


Drop

by CerapinTech



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alpha Keith (Voltron), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Established Relationship, Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, M/M, Omega Lance (Voltron), Omega Verse, Panic Attacks, Protective Instincts, Self-Destruction Lance (Voltron), Self-Harm, So much angst, unintentional neglect
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 06:27:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23466871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CerapinTech/pseuds/CerapinTech
Summary: Shiro is gone and Keith is reluctant to take his place. But his fixation on finding Shiro leads him to spending long nights up on the bridge and pushing everyone away. As his mate, Lance takes it all in stride, or at least he tells himself he can take it all in stride. But there's only so many lonely nights an Omega can take before the inevitable happens.A Drop.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 178
Kudos: 844





	1. Chapter 1

The castle was quiet. It was late, but Lance made his way to the bridge all the same, sure that’s where he would find his Alpha.

“Keith?”

“What is it, Lance?”

“It’s getting late.”

“. . .”

“You missed dinner again.”

“. . .”

Lance cautiously padded over.

“Come to bed?”

Keith sighed and turned his gaze away from the infinite vastness of space to face his mate. “In a minute.”

Lance fought the way his face crumbled and quickly turned away. He would pretend that he believed him.

“Lance,” Keith called out and caught his hand before he could go too far. Their eyes met and Lance saw the slight hesitation that always sparked up when Keith was trying. “I love you.”

Lance’s eyes widened and a small, genuine smile peeked out. “I love you, too,” he leaned in and whispered.

They stood close to each other in silence for a few minutes. Lance breathed in his Alpha’s scent and revelled in it. Keith wrapped him safely in his arms and held him close.  
“You know I’m here for you, right?” Lance asked, his voice muffled in Keith’s shoulder.

“I know,” Keith nosed his hair.

“You’re not alone.”

“I know.”

“. . . We’ll find him.”

Keith paused as a sharp pang echoed through his chest and held on just a little tighter. “I know.”

Silence.

Lance pulled away and asked again.

“Come to bed?”

Keith looked away, unable to meet his eyes again and instead looked back out to the universe where, somewhere, Shiro was lost and waiting to be found.

“In a minute.”

With a heavy heart, Lance returned to their room alone.

**Oo-oO**

His heart only grew heavier as he walked through the echoing hallways. Each step brought another pang to his chest.

Keith had been distant ever since Shiro disappeared. It wasn’t uncommon now a days for him to spend all night up on the bridge, staring out into space or watching the search protocol scan the stars. Lance couldn’t blame him. It was Kerberos all over again and it was killing Lance to watch his mate go through something like that.

It was like he could physically feel Keith’s pain radiating through his chest, like a hollow echo reverberating each moment he’s alone.

He missed Keith. He missed waking up next to him and sitting cuddled up in the lounge poking jabs at each other, giggling quietly so as not to bother the others. Now a days Keith was so wrapped up in finding Shiro that there wasn’t time to spend together. His Omega wasn’t liking it much either, but Lance had gotten pretty good at pushing those urges away.

Like now, Lance tried to shake off the hollow ache in his chest as he entered their shared room. He slapped his face and looked at himself in the mirror.

“Shower!” he told himself. “Shower and maybe a facemask.” He wandered into the bathroom to see what kinds he still had stocked up. He pulled one out that kind of smelled like lavender. “Who needs constant affection from a burly Alpha,” he muttered as he stripped down and started the water. “I can show myself some love.” He smiled to himself, mood sufficiently lifted . . . but that hollow feeling didn’t ebb any.

He stumbled out of the shower and his head spun. He reminded himself not to turn the water on so hot next time. His chest gave an especially hard pang. He slapped a hand to his chest as if that would stop the hollowness as it throbbed.

_Not lonely, not lonely, I’m not lonely. . ._

Lance locked eyes with himself in the mirror and tried telling himself that he was alright. He would be alright and _shut up, Omega. Alpha is busy!_

Then—Oh no. His vision started swimming. The hollow began turning to a numbness and soon it became hard to breathe.

_What’s happening?_

Something definitely wasn’t right. He—he was . . .

The hollow filled his lungs and the numbness took over. It was only then that Lance realized what was happening with a bitter laugh.

_Omega Drop._

**Oo-oO**

As Lance woke up, he couldn’t quite remember crawling into bed. This would most likely be because he didn’t wake up in bed but sprawled out on the bathroom floor.

He woke slowly, his mind still sluggish as he tried to put together what had happened. Why was he on the bathroom floor? What time was it? Why was his chest still hurting?

Then it hit him all at once.

“I Dropped!” The sinking feeling fell right to the bottom of his hollow chest.

That’s not right! That _can’t_ be right! It’s not as if Keith had been neglecting him. . . Well, other than being more distant that usual, but Lance couldn’t blame him for that!

Keith was dealing with his own demons and having Shiro ripped away from him for a second time was bringing back all of his fears and insecurities. Even though all of Lance’s Omega instincts were urging him to comfort his Alpha, to smother him in love, he knew better. What Keith needs most right now isn’t coddling. Right now, Keith needs space to sort out all his thoughts and emotions. He needs to process and figure out what he needs to do . . . whether it’s to keep looking or to take up the mantle of the Black Paladin onto himself like Shiro wanted.

Whatever the case, Lance would be there to support Keith and gently remind him that even though Shiro isn’t here right now, he isn’t alone. He isn’t alone! . . . But Lance was feeling lonely.

To think that it had gotten to the point where Lance had Dropped.

Omega’s are needy creatures. They require constant love and affection, the degree of which depends on the individual, and while Lance is all for more attention and cuddles, he knows when to think of others before himself. Instead of bothering Keith with his troublesome Omega needs, Lance pushed through the hollow feeling every time Keith would brush him off and get absorbed into the task of finding their leader.

He could handle a few days on his own. He could give Keith the space he needs to sort through the thoughts in his head. He was fine with a few fleeting touches, a comforting hand on the shoulder every now and then or interlacing their fingers together under the table as they ate.

He could be strong for Keith.

He could handle a few days.

. . .

He _thought_ he could handle a few days, but it had been more than that. The hollow had built up and—and Lance . . . he’d _Dropped_.

When an Omega doesn’t get the affection and attention that they need, they can get sick and in extreme cases, they just collapse. After it’s happened once, the symptoms come on quicker and faster until the Omega’s needs are sated.

But it’s okay, because no one noticed. If the others knew, they would worry and right now they didn’t have to the time to worry about annoying Omega affection. He could handle this on his own. He could be strong for Keith.

Besides, he couldn’t have been out for too long.

He stumbled out of the bathroom and managed to keep his feet under him as the floor tilted. He reached out to steady himself against the wall but his whole body was shaking, his head was still fuzzy, and he couldn’t get his eyes to focus properly. His still numb fingers fumbled with his holopad and he squinted his vision into focus to see the time.

“Quiznak.” Okay, maybe he’d been out for longer than originally thought. He glared at the clock that told him it had been hours. It was now well into the night.

No one had noticed thought.

No one had noticed because Keith hadn’t come to bed. No bedtime cuddles. No affectionate goodnight kisses. Only Dropping Omegas in the bathroom.

“Get a hold of yourself,” Lance smacked his face, trying to clear his mind and pushed back the tears that threatened to form. “It’s just a little Drop. I’m fine. I’ll be fine. It won’t happen again.”

**Oo-oO**

“End training sequence,” Keith called out and turned to where his Omega was watching from the doorway. Lance flinched at the sudden sound of his voice. He hadn’t expected Keith to notice him that quickly, even more that he bothered to stop the simulation to address him. 

“What is it, Lance?” Keith’s tone was clipped as he panted from the exertion.

Lance shuffled nervously before schooling his expression into something more playful. “Can’t I watch my Alpha show off every once and a while?” He played it up and sashayed over to him, pushing away the need to run into those strong arms and be held close.

Keith sighed and sheathed his bayard. “What’s the real reason?”

Lance stopped with a good two feet between them. He caught Keith’s scent that was only strengthened by the sheen of sweat that dripped off him. Mixed in that scent was the stress and anger that put his Omega on edge.

“Allura’s calling a meeting,” he finally answered, not meeting Keith’s gaze. 

“Tsk,” Keith scoffed and rubbed his face in annoyance. “For what?”

“Does it matter?”

“It does if all she’s gonna do is insist we replace Shiro!” Keith snapped.

Lance recoiled at the outburst and took a step back as his Omega cowered at the angry Alpha. “Come on, Keith, you know she—”

“Stop! Just—stop! We’re not stopping the search! We’re not going to just _leave_ him out there!”

“That’s not what this is about,” Lance’s voice wobbled. “You know we can’t keep flailing around like we have been. We’re not abandoning Shiro. But _something_ needs to change.”

“I don’t need to hear this from you.”

“What’s that supposed to—”

“ _Just leave me alone, Lance!”_

They both froze as Keith’s voice echoed around the training deck. It took a moment for Lance to regain himself. He cast his eyes to the ground and turned to leave. He stopped at the door.

“You—you know I’m always here for you, right?” he whispered.

Keith heard. He didn’t answer.

Lance fled.

**Oo-oO**

**~Time passes~**

It happened again.

“Hey man, are you doing alright?” Hunk asked as Lance hopped up on the counter in the kitchen.

“Are you suggesting that I’m anything less than perfect?” Lance ignored the encroaching hollowness in his chest.

“I mean, are you, like, doing okay? You seem a little out of it. Your scent if off.”

“You mean beyond losing our fearless leader and gaining an even moodier Alpha for a mate?” Lance raised an eyebrow at Hunk and just shrugged. “I mean things aren’t _great_ per sey, but they could be worse.” He hoped that would be enough to satisfy his best friend.

“And Keith?”

Lance sighed and traced patterns into Hunk’s arm as he mixes something blue in a bowl, taking what comfort he could from the minimal human contact.

Keith had been pulling away even more. He barely reacted to Lance’s presence anymore, even going as far as to pull away in frustration when he tried to comfort him. Countless sleepless nights would take their toll on anyone and Keith was no exception. On the nights he did end up returning to their room, he would roll over to face the wall as soon as he laid down and remained tense all night.

_He just needs some space._ Lance tried to reassure himself.

“He’ll come through. Whatever happens, he’ll come through.”

Hunk frowned, unsatisfied but willing to accept Lance’s half answer. “If you’re sure.”

He sent Lance off with a container of blue oatmeal-like goop that tasted like banana pudding to share with Keith. Lance happily hopped off the counter and started moseying around the halls trying to catch Keith’s scent.

Then his thoughts began to wander.

Would Keith even _want_ to share the desert with him? I mean, Keith needs his space, right? But one little bowl of oatmeal-pudding should be okay. Just a little something to cheer him up. Remind him that he’s not alone . . .

_Alone._

The hollowness gripped harder. Lance raised a hand to fist his shirt and tried to shake the thoughts away. He was gonna find Keith and then they were going to share a snack and then—

The hollowness grew stronger and his grip tightened. Lance stopped dead in his tracks when it kept spreading. His breath hitched as it grabbed his lungs and his vision wobbled.

_It’s happening again._

“No,” he whispered as his legs began to tremble. “—just need—”

_Voices up ahead._

It was a struggle to suck in a breath.

_Someone’s coming._

The numbness started setting in.

_Can’t let them see._

Lance managed to dive into the closest room before his legs fell out from under him. His vision swam. Breath coming in gasps. He couldn’t feel himself breathing. Everything went numb.

He didn’t remember the door closing behind him.

**Oo-oO**

Lance awoke a trembling mess, buried in a pile of alien cleaning supplies.

_Not again!_

He choked out a sob and buried his face in his knees. He failed to supress the tears that were threatening to spill over. He whined for his Alpha. He needed him. Why wasn’t he here?

It was another hour before his legs stopped shaking and his vision to clear enough for him to walk properly. He stumbled through the halls before falling into bed and curling up in the blankets that still smelled like Keith.

This time was so much worse than before.

They never got to eat that pudding.

**Oo-oO**

That night Lance went searching for Keith again. He was still shaky, but he gave in to his Omega. He admitted that he could really use a hug right now.

As always, he found him on the bridge, only this time he wasn’t staring out the view port with a lost look on his face. No, tonight Keith was passed out in the Red Paladin’s chair with battle formations still lighting up the holo-screen in front of him. As Lance came to a stop beside him, Keith shifted in his sleep but didn’t wake. His hand inching toward where he could sense his mate was watching over him.

Lance stopped himself from reaching out to run a hand through his hair, too scared to wake him. He knew Keith hadn’t been sleeping well, too many thoughts swirling around for his mind to calm down.

Right now, Keith’s face was so open, so telling. He had a little frown on his face, his eyebrows slightly furrowed and as Lance moved closer some of that stress smoothed out and his hand straying closer to him.

Lance couldn’t bring himself to wake him. His hands still shook and his centre of balance was still a little off and his Omega was yelling at him to just snuggle up with him . . . but if he woke Keith up, he’d just brush him off and go back to studying battle formations, or filtering through their out of date data-base or simply watching the stars shooting by them as if he might miss seeing Shiro if he looked away for a second.

He wouldn’t even dare caressing his cheek just to feel him.

He faced the facts. He was going to spend the night alone, again.

The door to the bridge slipped close behind him and the cold castle air bit at his newly exposed arms. His jacket now covered his mate, who had snuggled into it and breathed in deeply the moment it touched his skin. With it, the last of the stress seeped out of Keith’s face.

Lance slipped into bed again, trying to find the spot that still held Keith’s scent. Every night it grew harder to find. How long had it been since they last shared a bed? He couldn’t remember.

It was cold.

**Oo-oO**

**~Time passes~**

“Shiro’s still out there somewhere and you want to just give up the search and abandon him!”

“There are greater forces at work here! The Galra aren’t going to stop attacking just because we’re down a Paladin! We need to find a solution!”

“You’re not replacing Shiro!”

It wasn’t their first fight over the matter. And if things continued the way they were, it wouldn’t be their last. Keith and Allura were at each other’s throats. The team was falling apart. They could barely hold a civil conversation. How were they supposed to win a war like this?

Lance ran after Keith as he stormed out of the room.

“Keith!” Lance caught his arm to stop him, but Keith ripped it from his grasp and growled at him. Lance recoiled, snatching his hand back to his chest at the aggression. His Omega didn’t know what to do. Was he supposed to comfort his mate or run from the angry Alpha?

“What?! Are you gonna tell me to let it go too?” Keith snapped.

“I—” Lance trembled. Keith didn’t want him here. Alpha was angry. He took a step back and hunched into himself.

“I don’t want to hear it!” Keith stormed off in the direction of the training deck.

“Keith,” Lance’s voice pittered out as he lost sight of his mate, the one he loved . . . the one who was supposed to be loving _him._

_I’m always here for you_.

He Dropped again that night.

**Oo-oO**

**~Time passes~**

Lance found Keith curled up by the window on the observation deck. He held the Black Bayard tightly as if he couldn’t quite believe it belonged to him now. The Black Lion had accepted him.

“Lance?” Keith perked up at his mate’s scent. He turned and Lance felt his heart throb at the broken face and teary eyes that looked back pleadingly. The Alpha was then wrapped in his Omega’s arms. Lance chirped and cooed and Keith clutched at his mate as he fought against the tears.

“It’s okay. It’s okay,” Lance whispered as he ran his fingers through Keith’s hair. “I’ve got you. You’re okay. You’re not alone. I’m here for you. I’m always here for you.”

They stayed like that for a long while, just taking comfort in each others presence. Lance relished in the contact. Even if he wasn’t the one being comforted, it had been weeks since they wee this close. He could be strong for Keith. He could push the hollow ache in his chest away and fill it with his Alpha. He could be fine without the needy Omega in his soul. He could be strong. He could help hold Keith up, even if he pushes Lance away sometimes. Lance could hold out for moments like this, when Keith needs him most.

“The Black Lion chose me,” Keith’s voice was small and hoarse. “If she chose me then what about Shiro? Is—is he gone?”

“I don’t know,” Lance held him closer and buried his face in his hair. Keith whined and pulled on his shirt. “But I’ll always be here for you. Always. You’ll never be alone.”

Keith sniffed. “I love you.”

So, Lance held Keith until the sobs tapered off, until the tears dried, until his heavy eyes slipped shut and he fell asleep against Lance.

Lance brushed the unruly hair from his forehead to press a kiss. His skin was hot from working himself up, but Lance only held him closer and whispered.

“ _I’m always here for you.”_

**Oo-oO**

He thought things would change after that.

He was wrong.

Keith was now throwing himself into the new responsibility of Leader of Voltron.

Hunk kept giving him worried looks. Even Pidge asked him if he was doing alright. His scent was giving him away. Distress was hard to hide, but Lance was always good at putting on masks. He also knew where they kept the scent blockers that Pidge had managed to synthesize after Keith’s Alpha stench had stunk up the lounge area a few too many times after he’d been on the training deck.

He couldn’t worry the team now.

**Oo-oO**

“Keith?”

“What is it?”

“It’s late.”

“Not now, Lance”

“Oh, sorry.”

“Go ahead without me.”

“Okay . . . Goodnight.”

The hollowness took him before he even got close to his room. He spent the night in another storage closet.


	2. Chapter 2

Lance had been counting the days to his heat. It was bound to happen sooner or later.

Lance chose later.

He restarted his suppressants. It quelled some of his instincts. The Omega’s neediness faded and with it the hollow ache in his chest. It never left completely, but he hasn’t Dropped once since he restarted the little pills. Now they could focus on their duty to the universe instead of taking time off to deal with something as bothersome as a heat.

Keith was under enough stress as it was. He’d finally accepted his role as Black Paladin and was coming to terms with everything. Things were supposed to calm down now. Things were supposed to go back to normal. Unfortunately, the universe wasn’t so kind. The Galra’s prince, Lotor, had come out of hiding and wasn’t giving them much time to rest.

They’re first few encounters with him hadn’t gone well and Keith was dead set on fixing that.

“Everyone to your Lions!” Keith called out as Lotor’s ship appeared again in orbit around a planet dominated by forests.

Everyone took off to their hangers; Keith to the Black Lion, Lance to the Red Lion, and Allura to the Blue Lion. It was a difficult change, but for some reason, Red recognized the battle Lance was fighting within himself and accepted him as worthy to be her Paladin. Lance didn’t quite think the Red Lion was right in that aspect, but he was willing to play his part.

“Ready to go girl?” he asked in the cockpit bathed in red.

He felt a reassuring growl and the Red Lion launched into the void of space. The others were already regrouping into formation and Lance urged Red to join. They were up against three fighter jets, all identical. Lotor could be on any one of them.

“Anyone else find their flight pattern weird,” Hunk pointed out as they engaged, and the fighters scrambled.

“They’re not attacking outright,” Keith said.

“You’re right,” Pidge analyzed. “I think they’re trying to lure us to the planet’s surface.”

As she said it, the fighters entered the planet’s atmosphere, lighting up like little comets as they went in hot.

“Do we have any intel on this place?” Keith asked.

“ _Systems show that there’s little to no sentient life on the surface,”_ Coran reported from the Castle. _“Lots of dense forests on the surface but no hostile creatures. The atmosphere is breathable to you Paladins, but I wouldn’t recommend long term exposure. There’s an odd mixture of gases present and what I believe to be a sort of air-born pathogen that may or may not be harmful after ten-thousand deca-phoebs of evolution.”_

“Noted,” Keith replied. “So, helmets on and stay alert.”

“They’re splitting up!” Hunk said.

“Let’s form teams and each take a fighter. Lotor could be in anyone of them. We need to take him out _now_ before he can succeed Zarkon. This war ends now.”

**Oo-oO**

Keith and Lance exited their Lions in the middle of the jungle, prepared for the enemy to attack right then and there. They clear the immediate area around them before following the trajectory of where their fighter likely landed.

They didn’t speak. Lance swept the area as Keith cleared a path through the foliage. They dodged around thick trees and rock formations, but the only thing that moved was the wind through the leaves.

“It’s too quiet,” Lance broke the silence after twenty minutes of searching.

“They’re here somewhere.”

“That’s what’s got me worried.”

“Uh,” Keith paused in his hacking and tilted his head in confusion. “I thought Coran said there was no life on this planet,” Lance came to a stop beside him and let his blaster fall to his side as they looked over the three-story building that blended in with the wildlife. “To be fair, he did say there was ‘little to no’ sentient life.”

“You think it’s still occupied?” 

“Only one way to find out,” Lance bumped his shoulder playfully and hoisted his gun up to cover the entrance. Keith returned a small smile before raising his sword and approaching the building.

It was times like these when energy ran high and they were all pumped on adrenaline that he could forget the encroaching loneliness and just let himself _be_. He could be the Paladin the universe needed him to be, watch Keith’s back like he trusted him to. He could be strong.

The door was open and fresh footprints led inside.

“They’re here,” Keith whispered as he pointed them out.

There were two directions.

“Left, or right?” Lance asked.

“Split up,” Keith said with no hesitation. “Can’t let them sneak back out if we go the wrong way.”

“Right,” Lance gripped his bayard a little tighter as they walked away from each other.

He could be strong.

The Lance strained his ears for the sound of any movement and scanned for any shifting shadows. He saw nothing. The hallway continued on. Each door had a window and he peaked in as he passed by. The rooms were mostly filled with work desks and holo-boards, but it was clear that nobody had been here for a long time. So why was Lotor here? What’s here that he would want? Or was this all just a convenient place to lure the Paladins into a trap? He wouldn’t put it past him.

Lance came to the end of the hall and pressed himself up against the corner with his bayard ready. He leaned out to poke his head around and saw a set of big double doors that were wide open . . . and a light inside that cast shadows out into the hall.

Lance went to radio Keith but stopped himself. He should confirm that it’s the enemy before bothering Keith. What if he’s wrong and Keith leaves and they get away because Lance was too scared to check if whatever was in that room was one of Lotor’s generals? It could just be an animal. Heck, it could be one of the people who built this place. He didn’t know for sure that they were gone.

Point was, Lance had to get closer.

And closer he got.

His footsteps crunched on the loose gravel that had crumbled from the ceiling. The shadows stopped moving and Lance entered the room.

Standing in front of a working computer with lines of data flashing across it, was the Galra Prince himself. Lance leveled his gun at Lotor with a pounding heart as the prince grinned back behind his visor.

“Well well well,” Lotor’s melodic voice was muffled by the speaker in his helmet. “What have we here? What’s a pretty little Paladin like you doing out here all by yourself.”

“You’re delusional if you think I came alone,” Lance snapped back and went to radio Keith.

“You’d do well to head you own advice.”

Lance only had a second to process that before he was spinning out of the way of an incoming fist from behind.

“KEITH—” He manages to call before he is rolling out of the way of Lotor’s blade. He comes up on one knee with his bayard firing. Lotor’s general, the one with no eyes and a tail, dashes out of the way and Lance focuses his fire on her as she gets a little too close for comfort.

Lance is up again and backs away as the general weaves around his bullets. They were indoors and he couldn’t get the proper distance between himself and the enemy—

_CRACK_!

Lance stumbles and just manages to block Lotor’s strike with the blunt of his blaster. He’s knocked off balance and can’t stop the follow up attack from below. Lance watches with wide eyes as the Galra’s sword smashes through his visor and his ruined helmet is sent flying.

“Quiznak!”

Lance jumps back, blinking blood out of one eye.

Lotor grins.

A hand grips the top of Lance’s exposed head and he . . .

His vision whites out.

“That went smoother than expected,” Lotor approaches the slack faced Paladin who was now trapped in Narti’s psychic connection. “But best not to dilly-dally. The other one will be here soon.”

Narti nodded in agreement and delved into Lance’s mind.

**Oo-oO**

Keith swore. His heart rate picked up at the sound of Lance’s panicked cry. His Alpha raged and before he could think, he was following Lance’s tracker and audibly growling at the walls that separated them. But he managed to shake off the instincts as he rounded another corner. He needed to be a Paladin now, not an Alpha, not a mate. He needed to perform his duties to Voltron and take out Lotor.

“Lance! What’s happening?!”

Lance wasn’t answering.

Keith kicked in the set of double doors and froze.

Lance was on his knees with a blank expression on his face. One of Lotor’s generals stood behind him, gripping his head and Lotor stood in front.

As Keith made his entrance, Lotor took him in and sadly shook his head. “To think that Voltron is already in such a state of disarray.”

“Let him go!” Keith bared his bayard and gnashed his teeth.

“And I had such high expectations,” Lotor sighed and then _turned his back on him_. Keith’s Alpha flared at the dismissal. “We’re done here.”

Lotor’s general nodded and pressed a button that was held in her free hand.

Keith braced as the room filled with smoke and an ear-splitting noise echoed off the crumbling building. When Keith opened his eyes again, Lotor and his general were gone, and Lance was sprawled out on the floor.

“Lance—”

He was cut off as the whole building started collapsing around them.

Instincts took over and Keith threw himself over his mate.

**Oo-oO**

. . .ith. . .

. Kei . . .

“Keith!”

Keith snapped awake. His whole body on alert. He braced himself around his Omega and whipped his head around, searching for the threat. He couldn’t move properly.

“Keith!” Lance’s worried calls turned relieved. “Are you alright?”

“Can’t—” Keith tried rolling off of him, but found he was partially buried under a slab of alien concrete. 

“Wait, you’re—” Lance tried to stop him. Keith growled and heaved the pure stone off. It smashed on the floor and shattered into fragments of rubble. “I guess that works, too.” 

They both sat up.

“What the hell happened back there!?” Keith turned on him and yelled.

“I—” Lance flinched back.

“You were just standing there! Doing nothing!” Keith continued to yell. Then he started pacing, back and forth, stalking. “Lotor was right in front of you and you were just standing there, useless!”

“Hold on—” Lance’s voice wobbled.

“What? Tell me! What happened?”

“ _ZzZ—Kei—Lance!—zZz—”_

Keith slapped his hand to his helmet. “Pidge?”

“ _Keith! I’ve been trying to call you for—ZzZ—They –zZz—got away. The cruis—ving the planet’s orbit.”_

“You’re cutting out Pidge!”

“ _Where are you guys? We can’t pinpoint your—ZzZ—”_

“We’re in some sort of building that collapsed on us,” Keith glared at the rubble that trapped them inside. It was only by some miracle that they weren’t dead.

“ _Geez, what have you guys been doing,”_ Pidge muttered, and Keith could hear the sound of keys clacking before she spoke again. “ _Okay, we’re on our way over. Lance is with you, right? I managed to amplify the tracker in your helmet, but Lance’s isn’t coming up for some reason.”_

“Yeah, he’s here,” Keith confirmed, glancing over his shoulder—

Helmet.

Lance wasn’t wearing his helmet.

Broken fragments littered the ground. Dented blue metal was half buried a few feet away. Lance’s increasingly heavy breathing—

_The atmosphere is breathable to you Paladins, but I wouldn’t recommend long term exposure._

Keith’s heart started pounding as he met Lance’s gaze. Lance didn’t seem to have realized what was wrong.

. . . _believe to be a sort of air-born pathogen that may or may not be harmful . . ._

“Pidge,” Keith’s voice shook. “How long?”

“ _What?”_

“How long until you get here?!”

“ _Uh, ETA five dobash--_

“Lance’s helmet’s damaged!”

At the reminder, Lance’s eyes blew wide and his hand flew to his chest as if he was just realizing that his heavy breathing might not be due to the exertion from the fight.

“ _Quiznak!”_

It took too long, in Keith’s opinion, before they got there. Three Lion’s surrounded the ruined building. But what really had Keith shaking was the amount of time it took to dig them out. Keith was all but hacking pointlessly at the rocks in an effort to dislodge them and maybe get them out even a minute sooner.

What Keith didn’t know was that Lance laboured breathing wasn’t because of the atmosphere or some air-born pathogen. No, Lance was fighting off a full-blown Drop from happening right in front of Keith.

_Useless_.

Keith had called him ‘useless’. And he was useless. He couldn’t do anything when faced with Lotor. He’d been subdued too quickly, disarmed and rendered useless. No, he had always been useless.

The hollow pulled at his lungs and Lance struggled to pull in air. He hadn’t had an attack this bad since he restarted his suppressants. Tears pricked his eyes and suddenly Keith was in front of him, holding his shoulders, telling his to breath, but he _couldn’t_ breath! He was trying but nothing was –

He gasped in a full breath as Keith grabbed the side of his face and pressed their foreheads together. “Please, breathe! I need you to breathe for me. That’s it, like that,” Keith urged with shaking breath.

“K-Keith,” Lance pressed a hand to Keith’s cheek, a cheek that was now also free of its helmet. “You—your hel—”

“It’s fine,” Keith said. “I’ll be fine because _you’re_ gonna be fine.”

“Do-don’t be stupid,” Lance stuttered as he continued taking shaky breaths. “Put it—put it back on.”

Instead of doing the reasonable thing and putting his damn helmet back on, Keith gathered Lance up and held him close. “It’s okay, it’s okay. We’ll get you in a healing pod and everything will be okay.”

**Oo-oO**

And everything _was_ okay.

By the time the rest of the team had dug them out, Lance was breathing just fine, his pulse was down to a reasonable range and the hollowness in his chest had faded to only a dull throb as Keith held him close.

_Safe_.

Lance could walk and although he was still slightly shaky, he managed to pilot the Red Lion back to the Castle.

Despite his protests, Coran had him bundled up in the pod.

“It’s just to be sure, my boy,” Coran reassured him. “You’d be surprised what kind of nasty buggers you could pick up on planets such as these.”

“Really—” Lance tried to argue.

“Just get in the pod, Lance,” Keith snapped. Lance stiffened and his gaze fell to the floor. Coran gently urged him into place and the glass slid down.

As Lance’s eyes fell shut, Keith let out a full body shutter and let himself fall forward to press against the glass.

“Are you all right, Number Four?”

“I hate seeing him in there.”

“So do I,” Coran placed a hand on his shoulder and stood beside him. “But he’s a strong lad. He’ll pull through.”

“I know.”

Less than a varga later, Lance was falling out of the pod and Keith was there to catch him. “Well, hello there,” Lance wiggled his eyebrows at Keith in typical Lance fashion, and although he frowned at the antics, Keith felt the stress melt from his body. Omega was okay.

“Hello yourself,” Keith straightened him up in time for Hunk to wrap them both up in a monster hug.

“Why do you always get yourself into trouble?” Hunk demanded. “Do you know how much stress you give me?”

“Sorry big guy,” Lance chuckled weakly and patted his back. “Trouble is a tricky lady, and like all ladies, they just can’t stay away.”

Keith grumbled and took a step back to where Coran was looking over Lance’s results. “What’s the verdict?”

“Good news!” Coran exclaimed, gathering everyone’s attention. “Looks like the pathogen was actually no more harmless than your Earth’s pollen! Would give a Snarlox a nasty case of the sneezies, but harmless to you Earthlings.”

“Oh, thank God,” Hunk grabbed Lance for another hug.

“Other than that,” Coran continued. “A little case of low oxygen content due to the mix of gases in the atmosphere, but nothing serious for short-term exposure.”

“Well, this is one time I’m not annoyed by a false alarm,” Pidge sighed and bumped into the Omega.

Lance grinned meekly and rubbed the back of his neck.

**Oo-oO**

In the end, Lance had caused a scene and made everyone worry over nothing. Exactly what he had been trying to avoid.

No one had brought up the fact that Lotor had managed to get away, _again_. They didn’t say it, but Lance knew they were thinking it. Especially Keith.

He’d been so mad. Lotor had been right there and Lance could only stand there and do nothing.

What _had_ happened? He’d been fighting and then his helmet had been knocked off and . . . and then what? He just stood there like some puppet, while Lotor lorded over him.

_To think that Voltron was already in such a state of disarray. I had higher expectations_.

He hadn’t even been a threat. He was nothing more than a nuisance at best.

Lance left the others with the excuse of sleeping off the pod. Instead he found himself hiding away in the Red Lion, curled up in the pilot’s seat trying to fend off unwanted thoughts.

_I had higher expectations._

_Do you know how much stress you give me?_

_Lotor was right in front of you and you were just standing there, useless._

_Useless._

Useless.

“Useless.” The word slips out and he curls further into himself.

It was a familiar feeling now. The throbbing hollow in his chest grows stronger, but this time Lance almost welcomes the numbness that accompanies it. He’s a shaking mess, lungs heaving, eyes blurring, until the nothingness encompasses him.

**Oo-oO**

“We found him!”

“Shiro!”

“Could hardly recognize you under all that hair.”

“Man, what happened?!”

“You guys wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

Shiro was back. Things would finally go back to normal.

**Oo-oO**

What even _was_ normal, anymore? Lance couldn’t remember. The suppressants no longer quelled the hollow like they once did and stress was higher than it ever was.

Yes, Shiro was back, but Keith was still the Black Paladin. They clashed, Keith got frustrated, then retreated further into himself because he felt like he wasn’t the leader he was supposed to be.

Lance now lay in a bed that basically belonged only to him. The hollow in his chest throbbed like a close friend. The room didn’t smell like Keith anymore. Actually, since he started using the scent blockers to cover up his distress, the room didn’t smell like much of anything anymore. Lance couldn’t stand it. He got out of bed and started wandering the Castle.

He stumbled by the lounge where he found Keith and Shiro talking in hushed voices. They hadn’t noticed him.

“Are you sure about this?” Keith asked. Lance could hear the hesitation in his voice.

“The Black Lion has chosen you,” Shiro’s voice was warm, but . . . something felt different. “You are the leader of Voltron now, like I always knew you could be.”

“But I’m not a good leader, Shiro! We—we were a mess without you. I can’t—I can’t keep doing this.”

“Keith, I believe in you.”

Lance didn’t want to listen anymore. He scampered away, deeper into the castle and deeper into his mind, closer to the hollow.

Things were supposed to go back to normal. Shiro is back, why can’t things go back! Shiro is the leader, Keith in Red, the Blue Paladin should be—

The Blue Paladin should be . . .

Who should the Blue Paladin be?

Sure, Lance was the one she first accepted, but Allura is showing such promise now.

_Useless_.

The hollow squeezed at his lungs

They—they didn’t really need him now, did they? They had an extra Paladin. He didn’t need to keep piloting the Blue Lion. They could form Voltron without him.

Shiro in Black. Keith in Red. Pidge in Green. Hunk in Yellow. And _Allura_ in Blue.

They don’t need useless Lance anymore.

Lance’s breathing became erratic. His body started shaking. He braced himself against the wall. He knew what was happening. But he didn’t care.

Keith had Shiro back now. Keith wouldn’t be alone without him. Keith doesn’t need Lance anymore. 

_Useless_.

Keith doesn’t _want_ Lance anymore.

Lance . . . Lance doesn’t have a reason to keep going now.

Lance doesn’t have to be _strong_ anymore. He—he doesn’t have to . . .

_When did I get on the floor_? Lance idly thought and realized he couldn’t feel his body. He couldn’t feel himself breathing anymore. His vision fading to black and his body started to seize.

Lance Dropped.

This time, he didn’t wake up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be a one shot. Now I'm thinking about what happens AFTER and I haven't even finished writing whats happening NOW.   
> Thank you to everyone who left Kudos and comments, Bless all your souls. Hoping to do weekly updates until this thing decides to be finished.   
> Next chapter, Keith realizes what he's done.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Self-Harm

Alarms blared!

“Paladins!” Allura’s voice boomed over the intercom. “We’re under attack! To your stations!”

“We’re under heavy fire, Princess.”

“Where’s Lance? We can’t form Voltron without him!”

“There’s too many of them for just us to handle!’

“There’s no time, we can’t wait for him.”

“Shiro, you’ll have to pilot the Black Lion.”

“Wai—but what about you?”

“I’ll take the Red Lion.”

“Let’s go!” 

“What’s going on? Where’s Lance?!”

“Couldn’t wait, let’s go!”

“Form Voltron!”

**Oo-oO**

Keith stormed from the Red Lion and threw his helmet to the ground. They managed to pull it off, but that left the fact that Lance had totally blown them all off. It didn’t sit right in his gut. Something was wrong.

Shiro had been accepted by the Black Lion as Leader of Voltron again. That means he didn’t have to bear that responsibility anymore. He should be relieved. The stress should be gone. He can take a break.

So, why did he have a hollow ache in his chest?

Keith pulled at his hair as he pushed it back. Emotions swirled around, that familiar anger was on top, a feeling of betrayal that Lance would leave them on their own, but his Alpha was anxious. Where was his Omega?

Why hadn’t Lance come?

He had to find him.

**Oo-oO**

It was too long before anyone found him.

“I don’t know, Pidge,” Hunk hunched into himself as they walked. “I mean, yeah, we managed to form Voltron, but something about it . . .”

“I know what you mean,” Pidge sighed and rubbed her head. “It was like something was missing.”

“ _Lance_ was missing.”

“I _know_ that!” she snapped. “But it felt different than when Shiro was missing.”

“That was different! This—this feels. . . It feels off.”

“Yeah . . . off,” Pidge trails off and stops when she noticed Hunk was a few paces behind her. His eyes were blown wide, staring ahead. “What?”

In answer, he rushed forward. “Lance!”

Pidge went ridged when she noticed the pair of feet poking out from around the corner. Hunk slid down beside him and Pidge felt all the blood drain from her face when she saw their pack’s Omega splayed out on the ground. His skin was gray and ashen, body partially curled into itself, like he tried to curl up but didn’t have the strength. And he was cold. Too cold.

“Lance!” Hunk shook him, tears gathering in his eyes. “I knew something wasn’t right!”

“We need to get him to the infirmary!” Pidge directed with a hammering heart. She whipped her head around, looking for the nearest intercom. She smashed the button on the wall and screeched for someone to come help at the Healing Pods.

It was a flurry of action as Hunk gathered Lance into his arms and they both sprinted.

“What’s going on?!” Coran burst into the room as Pidge struggled to activate a pod.

“I don’t know,” Hunk had laid Lance out on the floor with fluttering hands that didn’t know how to help. “We just found him passed out on the ground!”

“Oh my,” Coran paled as he took in Lance’s condition. “Number Two, help me get him into the proper garments. Number Five please set the Pod to stasis like I showed you the other quintant.”

Soon Lance was floating in the pod. Pidge was analysing his vitals.

“It all looks normal!” she huffed in frustration. “There’s no injury, no fatigue that would have caused him to pass out, no foreign substances in his system that he might have eaten by accident, no—” She cut herself off. Lance’s hormone levels scrolled up.

This can’t be right.

“Pidge?”

“Number Five?”

“Oh God,” she backed up and rubbed her eyes, hoping to Quiznak that it was just some translation problem. Then Hunk peeked over her shoulder and sucked in a breath. She knew she wasn’t mistaken.

“How—”

It was then that Keith burst into the room, breathing hard like he ran all the way from the other end of the Castle. “What happened? Was someone hurt in the figh—” He froze when he saw who was in the pod. “Wha. . .”

Shiro and Allura appeared behind him but Keith didn’t notice. All he saw was his mate floating in cryostasis, looking ashen and sickly.

Something _had_ happened.

He slowly approached the pod unaware of the others exchanging quiet words and explaining how they found him passed out in the hall. He placed a hand on the pod over his mate’s heart. The glass was cold.

_Wrong_.

“What happened?” He whispered, scared of the answer.

Pidge turns to him with unbelieving eyes, not entirely sure how to explain it. “He—he—”

“Spit it out!” Keith’s Alpha flared. “What happened!?”

“He Dropped!” She yelled back. Her voice echoed in the resulting silence that filled the room so entirely that even the hum of the Healing Pod seemed dampened.

“What? Dropped . . .” It didn’t process in Keith’s head. “That . . . no, it’s not—”

“Damn it,” Pidge slammed a fist on the screen with the read out. “The suppressants probably didn’t help either.”

“Wait, what do you mean . . . Lance wasn’t on suppressants.”

The room went quiet and everyone stared at Keith.

“What?!”

“Keith . . .” Hunk said carefully, “Lance’s heat was due two weeks ago.”

_That can’t be right._

Keith’s mind reeled.

“He restarted them _two months ago!_ ” Pidge was starting to see how this could have happened. “Are you seriously telling me that you didn’t even notice!”

“I—he . . . he never said anything,” Keith’s voice grew small.

“Oh my Go—He shouldn’t have to! You’re his Alpha for fucks sake! Even if he didn’t _say_ anything you should have been able to smell it!”

Keith reeled back, stumbling over his own feet. Panic was setting in and Keith’s Alpha was spiraling out of control.

_No. No. My fault,_ Keith grabbed his head and shook it. His heart pounded. _Can’t be happening. Omega. Need Omega._ But his Omega was suspended in cryostasis. He had _Dropped_. He couldn’t have been so distant . . .

Keith’s mind reeled and he realized that he couldn’t remember the last time they actually spent time alone together for the sake of being together.

“I know you’ve been busy with leading the team but _come on!_ ” Pidge was getting worked up now. Her face was heating up and her hands clenched into fists. “He DROPPED! And by his hormone levels, this isn’t the first time! You’ve been distant Keith but I didn’t think you were actually dumb enough to neglect Lance! How long has this been going on!?”

_No. Omega!_

“Hey now,” Shiro tried to placate. “I think we all need to take a minute and just—”

“NO!” Keith snarled. The Alpha took over completely.

_Omega hurt. Protect Omega. Protect._

_Prote—No._

_Alpha hurt Omega?_

Keith’s own instincts were at war with themselves. Mix that with the amount of stress the last few months incurred, and it all became too much.

“Quiznak! He’s gone feral!”

“What do we do!”

“Quick, before he hurts someone.”

_Alpha hurt Omega._

_Protect Omega . . . from Alpha._

“Wait—Keith!”

Claws angled at himself.

_Alpha will protect Omega._

“NO—”

The world went silent.

. . .

The quiet broke.

_Hiss_.

Cold.

Falling.

“Shiro?”

Keith’s vision swam back into focus. He breathed in Shiro’s calming scent as he helped him out of the healing pod.

He was in the med bay? Why?

His brain was all fuzzy and he couldn’t think straight.

“Keith?”

“What happened?”

“You . . .” Shiro hesitated. “You went feral.”

Keith’s blood ran colder than the cryopod. “Did I—”

“The only person you hurt was yourself,” Shiro squeezed his arms a little tighter, as if to reassure himself that Keith was still there.

“I . . .” Keith struggled to remember. He knew there was something—no, _someone_ he needed to protect— “LACNE!”

The fog lifted and Keith scrambled from Shiro’s hold back to the healing pods.

Empty. Empty. _Empty. Empty!_

Where?!

_Omega’s gone!_

“Where is he!?”

Panic bubbled.

“Keith, calm down,” Shiro’s Alpha command ripped through him and he froze. He saw that Keith was working himself up and stopped him from going too far again. “He’s not in a pod.”

“He’s okay?” Keith turned back to him with wide eyes full of emotion. Shiro couldn’t meet that gaze and Keith’s heart fell with it. He wordlessly followed Shiro to the line of medical cots that they never used. At least, they never _had_ been used. The pods had always been enough to fix any problem they’d had, but now . . .

_Beep . . . Beep . . . Beep._ . .

The heart monitor monotonously rattled off numbers.

_Drip . . . Drip . . ._

The IV fed fluid into his veins.

_Whirrrrrrrrrr._

The breathing mask pushed oxygen into his lungs.

“No,” Keith didn’t bother to try and stop the tears this time, because Lance, his mate, _the love of his life_ , was lying all but dead on a cot with too many sensors, too many prods, too many needles, all making sure that his beautiful heart kept beating.

All because Lance had Dropped.

An Omega Drops if they don’t get enough love and affection. The most influential individual being the Omega’s mate. But Keith had been too wrapped up in his own problems to notice that the one person he was supposed to love was falling apart behind him . . . _because_ of him.

“This is all my fault,” Keith fell to the ground beside the bed with silent tears streaking down his face.

“Keith,” Shiro tried. “You can’t blame—”

“But it’s true!” Keith gripped the cold metal railing of the cot. “He _Dropped_ Shiro! I pushed him away because I was stressed. I yelled at him when I needed to vent. I—I called him useless when the fight with Lotor went south. Shrio,” Keith looked up to his brother, helplessly lost. “Shiro, _I’m a bad mate_. I did this to him.”

Keith buried his face in his hands and his breaths became ragged as he fought back the sobs. “I didn’t see he was hurting. He was Dropping because I wasn’t spending time with him and loving him properly! He went back on his suppressants and _I didn’t even notice!_ I didn’t notice his heat was overdue! I didn’t notice that I couldn’t smell him anymore. I didn’t—Shiro I can’t even remember the last time I went to bed with him!”

He choked on his breath and plowed on. “He always makes sure to tell me how he’ll always be there for me . . . but I couldn’t get my own head out of my ass long enough to be there for _him_.”

Keith lost himself to his grief.

Shiro pulled him up off the floor and wrapped him in the safest, warmest, most loving hug he could. Keith couldn’t help but think how _Lance_ should be the one receiving this love, not him.

“Then make sure you’re here for him _now_.” Keith’s sobs hitched and he clung to his brother. “You can’t change what’s already happened. All you can do is make sure you don’t make the same mistakes. Don’t let it happen again.”

Keith whined into his shoulder. “Why isn’t he awake?” His voice was small and frightened.

“We’re not entirely sure,” Shiro admitted. “Coran or Pidge could probably explain it better, but the Drops combined with the stress and suppressants all building up over such a long time seem to have overwhelmed his Omega. It all got to be too much, so part of his brain just, sort of, shut down? There’s no physical damage so there wasn’t really anything for the healing pod to fix. All we can do now is monitor his vitals . . . and hope.”

“So he’s in a coma and we don’t know if he’ll ever come back?”

“. . . I’m sorry, Keith.”

**Oo-oO**

He’s sent to get a change of clothes and take a shower. He really should be sleeping off the residual effects of the pod, but he needed to be close to him. He’d neglected him for long enough. He wasn’t leaving again.

The door to their shared room opened and Keith had half a mind to just collapse on the bed then and there and cry surrounded by Lance’s scent . . . only, Lance’s scent wasn’t anywhere in this room. Was this the wrong room? Had he not been here in so long that he forgot which on it is? But no, their stuff was there. Lance’s clothes hung in the closet, his fancy bathroom amenities lined up on the vanity, his gaming console hooked up to the TV he’d somehow found. It was Lance’s space.

Why didn’t it smell like him?

He wanted his mate’s scent!

He ripped open the drawers and pulled out Lance’s shirts, not caring if they wrinkled and flew everywhere. He buried his face in them and breathed in deeply.

Nothing.

Not even a _hint_ of his Omega.

It was like an imitation room, set up to look exactly like their real room but clearly . . . clearly . . .

This _couldn’t_ be their room!

Keith spotted the culprit shoved in the back of the drawer and pulled out the aerosol can that Pidge had chucked at him after he’d gone to the lounge instead of the shower after training one to many times.

_Scent Blocker._

Lance had—he’d actively _hidden_ the scent of his distress from everyone. He’d erased himself from their radars, hadn’t let them help. And no one had _fucking_ noticed.

_Bad mate._

How could he have not noticed the love of his life disappearing so completely?

_You know I’m always here for you, right?_

The voice that sounded like Lance echoed in his head and his Alpha whined.

_Then why aren’t you here now?_

_Bad mate!_

His fingernails sharpened into claws that bit into his wrist and drew blood. He didn’t care. He watched the scarlet lines drip onto the floor; the only scent in the room now was his pain.

Later that night, all the cans of Scent Blocker he could find were ejected out of the air lock.

**Oo-oO**

Lotor observed the Castle of Lions as it floated in dead space while his own ship was concealed within a field of space debris. Something had been off recently with the Paladins of Voltron. They still function, but it’s tenuous at best. That last battle especially. It took too long for all the Lions to appear and the bond between them had been unstable. Something was wrong and he wanted to know what it was.

“Ezor, what’s your status,” he spoke into his communicator.

“ _Infiltration successful_ ,” the invisible, coloured General reported as she scurried around the winding halls of the Castle. “ _They got a nice set up in here. Hey boss, you think we can get an upgrade?”_

“Concentrate on your objective and maybe I’ll humour you,” Lotor smirked.

A few moments later, Ezor found what they were looking for. “ _It’s like you thought, boss. The blue one’s out of commission.”_

A pop-up screen appeared in the display window and Lotor grinned as Ezor stood invisible in what appeared to be the Paladin’s sick bay. The Paladin that dressed in blue looked to be on his death bed with the red one fast asleep with his head propped up on the bed beside him, the silent guardian.

Lotor hummed. “He doesn’t look long for this universe.”

“ _What do you want to do?”_

“If we are to make Voltron our ally against the Empire, we need to cut off all weaknesses. We have already seen that this one is unneeded. Voltron can be formed without him. As he is now, he’s nothing but a burden, a _distraction_ that will only hold them back.”

“Is it wise to dispatch of him?” Acxa asked from his side. “The Paladins hold their comrades in high regard. They wouldn’t take losing one of their own well.”  
“You think so?” Lotor considered this.

“And while Voltron was formed in the earlier battle, it was honestly a sad sight.”

“I suppose you’re right, as always,” Lotor grinned at her and turns his attention back to Ezor. “Plant the bug. We’ll monitor the situation and take action when the opportunity presents itself.”

“ _With pleasure.”_

**Oo-oO**

The days started blending together. Keith barely leaves Lance’s side. He was hypnotized by the steady beeping of the heart monitor that reminded him that his mate is still alive. They set up the adjacent cot for him to sleep on, but with all the medical equipment surrounding the Omega he couldn’t push the bed close enough for him to settle. He always ended up falling asleep in the uncomfortable chair with his head resting on the cot.

Sometimes he would wake up after a few fitful hours of sleep to find himself tucked into his own bed. It only served to aggravate him. It meant that someone had gotten too close to his Omega while he was asleep. As such, his sleeping schedule became erratic and what little shut eye he got was troubled with nightmares and accusations that he wholeheartedly agreed with.

His Alpha’s instincts had ramped with the need to _Protect._ He couldn’t stand it when someone else came into _their_ space. Most of the time he couldn’t control the growl that bubbled from his lips when the door opened but he would force it down when he saw that it was just a member of his Pack. Even so, his Alpha didn’t calm down until they were alone again.

Shiro was usually the one to bring him food. After days of retrieving barely touched food, Shiro started staying until Keith had finished everything on the plate. Keith felt his hackles rise as the other Alpha got too close and _stayed_ too close. It didn’t matter that it was his Pack Leader, it didn’t matter that he was basically Keith’s brother, it didn’t matter that Keith would die for him a thousand times over. Another Alpha was too close to his vulnerable Omega.

Keith growled deep and low in his throat.

“You want me to leave? Then eat,” Shiro’s voice was authoritative and Keith shrunk back at his tone. “You want to be there for him? Then _eat_. How can you protect him if you’re dead on your feet from hunger and so tired that you can’t even walk?”

Keith curled in on himself and gripped at the sheets on Lance’s bed.

_Protect Omega_.

Shiro sighed and placed the plate on Keith’s bed. “I know your instincts are going crazy right now,” his voice was calm and soothing, trying to placate the young, uneasy Alpha. “But Keith, how can you take care of him if you can’t look after yourself?”

Keith froze, eyes going wide.

_Protect . . . Can’t protect?_

_Bad._

_Bad mate._

_Can’t even protect Omega._

“Keith, look at me,” Shiro was suddenly crouched in front of him.

Keith flinched back at the sudden proximity. When did that happen? His heart started pounding. He was so lost in his own head that he didn’t even notice Shiro move.

“Keith,” Shiro called again, worry etching his face as he gripped Keith’s knees. They’re eyes locked. “There you are. It’s going to be okay.”

Keith felt himself nod but he wasn’t sure if he really agreed.

“I need you to eat and sleep. I promise, no one will com in. You’re both safe here. You don’t need to keep watch.”

Keith nodded again. If he just agreed, then Shiro would leave.

“Good,” Shiro patted his knee and smiled gently. “Good. I’ll check up on you in the morning. If you need anything, Coran’s on call tonight.”

Shiro left.

Keith climbed onto the bed with Lance and scented him. He didn’t like Shiro’s scent mixing with theirs. He rubbed his wrist along Lance’s neck and nuzzled into his hair. Lance wouldn’t be able to smell anything with the respirator covering his nose, but . . . Keith likes to think he’s comforting him. Anything—anything for his mate.

_If that were true, he wouldn’t be like this in the first place._

“I—”

_You pushed him away._

_“Come to bed?”_

_You left him alone._

_“In a minute.”_

_You can’t even remember the last time you slept together, can you?_

_“I’m always here for you.”_

_You put him down when he tried to help._

_“What do you want, Lance?!”_

_You crushed him._

_“I don’t need to hear this from you!”_

_Bad mate._

“Bad mate.”

He knew. He knew as soon as he saw how still Lance was laying in this stupid bed. He knew every second those endless blue eyes remained closed. He knew he was the one who did this.

“My fault.”

His arm came down and the blade slid into his leg.

He didn’t remember falling to the floor. He didn’t remember reaching for his knife. He didn’t remember stabbing himself over and over again as guilt flooded and his mind spiraled.

“Bad mate.”

The blade fell again.

“Bad—” Again. “—Mate!”

“BAD MATE BAD MATE BAD MATE BAD MATE BAD MATE—”

Strong arms were suddenly pulling him back, then away—

Away from Omega! 

“LET GO!”

The Alpha takes over again.

The next thing he remembers is once again falling out of the healing pod. This time, Shiro didn’t lecture him. He just guided Keith to the chair at Lance’s bedside and left.

Keith noticed that there were no longer any sharp objects. Syringes, glass, scalpels, all gone. His knife too. He didn’t even feel the loss.

The room smelt of antiseptic, no doubt from cleaning up the blood. Keith rubbed his leg that was full of holes not too long ago. He hoped it scarred.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t even know man. There was so much more I though I could fit into this chapter but then I looked at the word count. Looks like they’ll be a few more chapters than originally thought and when I say that I mean that when I was first hashing this out in my head, it was gonna be a one shot, I'm talking like 5-10k MAX. Now here we are with a multi chap nightmare that I don't even know where it's gonna end :P  
> More Keith angst coming next week and more of Lotor’s schemes.


	4. Chapter 4

Keith was defeated. He no longer growled at anyone who came close. He didn’t bite back when they told him to take care of himself. He barely reacted when they came.

He was a useless Alpha who couldn’t even take care of his mate properly. He was supposed to love him. It was his one job and he managed to screw it up. He failed, like he always seemed to. He hadn’t been able to stay at the Garrison, he hadn’t been able to lead Voltron, and he definitely hadn’t been the Alpha his mate needed. He didn’t deserve to protect the Omega.

His Pack started making sure he was never alone at Lance’s beside for long periods of time. They distracted him when he started to spiral. They took turns watching him as much as they watched Lance. Each of them tried talking to him, tried to comfort him, tried to pick at his brain. He stayed silent. He knew he would only fail them, too.

Hunk and Pidge hadn’t exactly forgiven him for his inattention. He didn’t deserve their forgiveness. He deserved their anger. But they weren’t angry, just sad. Well, Pidge was still pissed but she was also scared because Keith keeps hurting himself.

She had said that she didn’t like seeing him like that. He was supposed to be their leader—

“No,” Keith had whispered, his first words in days. “I’m no leader.”

She didn’t know what to say to that. Keith’s guilt only increased as her eyes grew wet and she turned away so he wouldn’t see.

Coran didn’t say much but left him with a few consoling words as he changed IV bags. “He wouldn’t want to see you like this.” Keith buried his face further into his hands. Coran continued, “What would he say if he saw you like this?”

“If he could see me there wouldn’t be a problem.”

Shiro let him stew in his grief but kept a watchful eye over the broken pair. He didn’t lecture because Keith was already berating himself more than Shiro ever could. Keith almost appreciated the silence. _Almost_ because he didn’t deserve the small kindness. He deserved all the harsh words and tongue lashings that could be dished out.

Other than the initial panic and confusion, no one said anything accusatory. It became clearer after one morning with Hunk.

“We were _all_ supposed to be there for him,” Hunk explained as he fidgeted. “We’re a Pack. We were all here, we all missed the signs, we _all_ failed him. Lance has always been good at hiding things. . . I just never thought he’d go this far.”

Keith didn’t know if he agreed with that, but he didn’t stop Hunk from threading his fingers with Lance’s. They grieved together.

No one was blaming him.

They should be.

He was the one responsible, so _why weren’t they mad?!_

He was supposed to be an Alpha, a protector! He was supposed to protect his Pack. He was supposed to protect his mate, take care of him, make him happy! Instead he left him to suffer _alone_.

He hadn’t even thought about Lance’s needs in those long phoebes without Shiro. His mind had been locked in a loop and nothing else had mattered.

_Find Shiro. Defeat Lotor. Fight! Don’t stop. Keep going!_

He left behind the only person who should have really mattered.

He left behind his heart and now it was broken.

How was he supposed to live without it?

**Oo-oO**

Allura was the only one who hadn’t sat with Keith by Lance’s bed side. She would stop in every now and then, check up on her Paladins, sometimes bringing him something to eat, but she never stayed for long. Keith was surprised when she sat down in the chair on the other side of Lance’s bed.

“We have a new mission.”

Keith didn’t acknowledge her. He kept staring at Lance’s face, obscured by the breathing mask. He rubbed his thumb over the Omega’s knuckles, being careful to avoid the IV line buried in his hand.

Allura tries again, hoping to spark _something._ “The planet we’ve set course to has been recently overtaken by the Galra. They’re resistance movement is strong, but it’s not enough to stand up to the Galra’s army.”

Keith’s eyes flicked up to her for a moment, wondering distantly why she was still talking.

“We speculate that the Galra are planning on building their new base for this quadrant on this planet, since we dismantled their previous one.”

Keith started humming softly as he watched Lance’s chest go up and down with each artificial breath.

“It will be a hard battle. We will need our full force to stand against the enemy.”

Keith’s humming stopped and his thumb stilled. His eyes flicked up to Allura with a detached coldness. “Good luck.”

“Keith,” Allura pleaded. She leaned forward and cast a shadow over Lance’s face. Keith didn’t like that. “We need you to pilot the Red Lion. Through some miracle we’ve managed with only four Paladins, but this can go on no longer! You are the Paladin of the Red Lion and the universe _needs_ you.”

“Lance is the Paladin of the Red Lion,” Keith’s eyes darted back to the Omega’s still face. “I’ll just fail the universe like I failed him.”

“Keith—”

“Keith,” Shiro’s firm voice came from beside him. Keith turned slowly to look at him. When did Shiro get here? “I need you to listen to me. Yes, we’ve taken a heavy loss. Yes, it could have been prevented. But you can’t stay here moping forever.”

Keith watched his mouth move, heard his words and understood what Shiro was saying. He didn’t like it at all. He could feel his jaw start to tremble and turned his back to them with the guise of returning to his ministrations.

“Keith—” Shiro pressed again but cut himself off as Keith sniffed loudly.

He clutched desperately at Lance’s hand as he held back the tears. He bowed over the bed and brought Lance’s hand up to his forehead. “You—you said I need to be there for him. How can I do that if I’m out there?”

“Oh Keith,” Shiro’s face crumbled as Keith squeezed his eyes shut and clung to his mate’s limp hand.

“Don’t make me go,” he whispered. “Don’t make be leave him.”

Shiro didn’t respond. He was shaken by the despair and desperation in Keith’s voice. He met Allura’s gaze and together they retreated into the hall.

“He’s not fit to go out like this,” Shiro rubbed his face.

“But—” Allura tried to argue and Shiro tried to make her understand.

“Physically he’s fine, yes, but this isn’t a matter of being capable,” Shiro tried to explain. “Losing your mate, it’s—it’s like losing a part of your soul, Allura. You don’t just get over it. What Keith is going through, it’s not easy to just pick up and keep going.”

“I understand the burden of loss quite well, Shiro,” Allura’s voice hardened in frustration. “I lost my whole planet, my whole way of life.”

“But was it your action that caused it?” Shiro asked quietly.

Allura didn’t have an answer for that.

**Oo-oO**

They left for battle with only four Lions. Keith’s coms were turned on and set aside in the med bay. Keith tried his best to tune out the team’s chatter. He kept his attention on his Omega. His Pack was fine. They’d be fine without him. He couldn’t—he couldn’t _leave_. Not again. He wouldn’t leave Lance alone . . .

_“Watch your back!”_ Shiro warned.

_“Quiznak, they’re everywhere.”_ That was Allura.

_“Can someone take out that canon! I’m pinned down.”_ Hunk.

_“Reconfiguring the detonation device. I just need another dobash.”_ Pidge.

_“We’re holding them as best we ca—AAGH!”_

Keith flinched. They—they’ll be—

_“Damn it, we need Voltron!”_

_“Steady team, we can manage.”_

But they couldn’t. Not with one hand tied behind their back.

He squeezed his eyes shut. He tried to shut out the voices. He tried not to flinch every time his team took hits he could have helped prevent. He tried not to listen to the scratching in his mind as the Red Lion called out to him.

His trembling hand rested on Lance’s chest as it went up and down. Lance, who was so brave, who took all the responsibilities upon himself. Lance who would shoulder any burden but would never let another share in his own problems.

He watched Lance who—who would be so disappointed in him. His Pack is in trouble and he’s just sitting here doing nothing.

He can’t leave him alone, but he could see the face Lance would have made.

_Don’t make excuses._

Keith opened his eyes. His grip loosened.

_Just get up off your butt and do it!_

Tears filled his eyes and Keith was through the door before he could fully process the voice that sounded like Lance. Too soon, he’s suited up and the Red Lion is jumping out into space and into the madness.

The others cheered at his arrival. He jumped directly into the fray.

He smashed into fighter jets that were hot on Hunk’s tail. He blasted through an entire cruiser while Shiro scrambled their forces. He tag-teamed with Allura to wipe out a group of fighters that were trying to get assemble into formation. He shielded Pidge as she finished the detonator that was going to do a thing that was probably important. He didn’t realize the amount of damage he was taking until he tried taking a sharp turn and Red’s response time lags.

He clipped a chunk of debris and took another hit, but Keith shook it off and kept pushing through the bullet hell that filled the void of space around him. Honestly, he wasn’t even actively aware of what was going on. He let instinct take over and blocked out all distractions.

Pidge finished what she was doing. There’s a ginormous explosion. Then Shiro called to form Voltron. Keith followed the others as everyone slots into place.

He can feel them all.

Shiro, Hunk, Pidge, Allura . . .

_Missing_. Everyone’s here, but something’s missing.

The lead flag ship exploded, and the rest of the forces scrambled.

Something’s _not right_!

Keith doesn’t know what happened, but Voltron is ripped apart.

Lions shot apart from each other. Paladins cry out in confusion.

Lance. Lance is missing. His _mate_ isn’t here!

The Red Lion goes dark.

Keith is dead in space, lost without his Omega. His mind shuts down. The Red Lion floats aimlessly as the rest of the Lions gather their wit and chase off the remaining Galra forces.

Overlooked by the others, one battle cruiser takes aim and starts charging its ion canon.

_“Keith watch out! You’re in the line of fire!_ ” Someone calls over the coms, but Keith is lost in his head.

The ion canon glows, whines and discharges. The pulse flying through space and straight towards Keith. He doesn’t move.

“KEITH!”

**Oo-oO**

“You were reckless!” Shiro was finally berating him. “Not only were you taking unnecessary risks, you weren’t even trying to avoid anything! You took every hit and you almost took a direct shot from that ion canon.” Shiro’s voice hitched with worry.

Keith stared back at him with empty eyes. He didn’t really remember the battle but apparently the Black Lion had managed to crash into the Red Lion and the ion blast just barely missed them both. Allura and Hunk took out the cruiser and then they drove off the rest of the Galra without his help.

Shiro was right, he had been reckless. But Lance would have wanted him to go out. Lance would have wanted . . .

“How can you be here for him if you get yourself killed?” Shiro’s voice almost cracked.

Keith can see the heartache in his face. He looked away quickly.

“Maybe he’d be better off without me,” Keith revealed his darkest thoughts, thoughts that had been careening around his head for a while now.

“That’s not true—”

Keith’s bitterness flooded. “Well he certainly isn’t doing great right now,” he snapped back. “He’s in a coma because of _me_. He can do so much better . . . It would be better if he—if he found someone else.”

Shiro is dead quiet and Keith stares down at his feet.

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that,” Shiro’s voice was quiet cold. He takes a deep breath before his volume starts to rise. “Lance loves you. He did this for _you!_ Are you telling me that all that pain he put himself through was pointless?”

“He wouldn’t have had to if—”

“He’ll never wake up if you leave!”

Keith starts trembling again and inches back a step. Shiro took a breath and places both hands on his shoulders. He forces Keith’s watery eyes to meet his gaze. “ _You_ are the one he loves,” he emphasized, shaking him. “ _You’re_ the only one who can wake him up.”

“. . . What if I can’t?” Keith asked in a small voice.

“Then you’ll be abandoning him a second time.”

**Oo-oO**

The planted bug recorded everything. Lotor grimaced as he listened to the Red Paladin fall apart. The other Paladins had tried to put him back together, but without the Blue one the Red Paladin has nothing to live for anymore.

“What’s the verdict, boss?” Ezor spun in her chair.

“I say we crush all the weaklings! Red and Blue!” Zethrid smashed her fist against the console in front of her. Narti stroked her kitty and listened with rapt attention.

“Now now, Zethrid,” Lotor tried to calm her. “We still need five Paladins. Finding a new one isn’t such an easy task.”

“They seem very dependent on each other,” Axca noted.

“In order to become stronger, you must first overcome great devastation,” Lotor preached. “For the Red Paladin to overcome his weakness, we must give him a reason to fight. You saw earlier, when the other Paladins needed him, he fought. He is already overcoming the loss and moving past it. Now is the ideal time to strike while the momentum is just starting to build. Perhaps this will be the push they need to go even further beyond.”

**Oo-oO**

In the days that follow, they give him some space.

Keith spends the time talking. Not to his Pack, no, but to his mate. He takes Shiro’s advice to heart. _He_ is the only one who can wake up his mate. They are bonded. They are connected. If anyone can pull the Omega from himself, it would be the one he trusted most. The one he _loved_ unconditionally. Even when Keith was the biggest quiznak in the galaxy, Lance had loved him. Even when he pushed him away, he would whisper those consoling words.

_I’ll always be there for you._

It was time Keith returned the favour.

He ends up begging, mostly. Begging for him to wake up, begging for forgiveness, for the chance to go back and do it right. He begs and tries to reason, but it all falls on deaf ears.

Keith has taken to curling up beside Lance on the medical cot, somehow managing to not jostle the equipment and only able to fall asleep to the sound of Lance’s heartbeat because the annoying beeping from the heart monitor wasn’t good enough.

. . .

He was jolted awake by the Castle’s alarms. Allura’s voice echoed through the Castle, summoning the Paladins to the bridge. He placed a wistful kiss to his mate’s forehead and promised to return before he took off.

Shiro was right. He couldn’t just sit around ignoring everything going on around him. Lance would be so disappointed in him.

He arrives on the bridge in his armour and stands next to Shiro. “What’s happening?”

Shiro studies him before turning back to the monitors. “Lotor has appeared again.”

Keith felt himself tense, remembering the last time he saw the Prince when the jerk dropped a building on him and his Omega. He realized he had started growl in agitation and coughed to cover it up.

“What’s his objective?” Keith asked.

“Probably the same reason we’re here,” Allura answered as she typed furiously at her terminal. “The Xanthium Crystals can be found in various asteroid belts in the Kwygar systems can be used to amplify quintessence, but they only form under certain astrological events such as extremely powerful solar flares, which this solar system has just experienced.”

“Looks like they’re loading up the crystals as we speak, Princess,” Coran zoomed into one of the screens, showing Lotor’s biggest general loading a crate onto their ship.

“What would Lotor want with Xanthium Crystals?” Hunk asked.

“Whatever he’s planning, it can’t be good,” Allura frowned and turned to the rest of them. 

“Alright, team,” Shiro took the lead. “We move in fast and hit hard. If we have to, blow the crystals.”

“Uh, probably best you don’t fire active lasers at highly volatile crystals,” Coran slipped in. “As mentioned, they amplify quintessence.”

“Translation?”

“Big boom,” Pidge dead pans.

“So retrieval over destruction,” Shiro sighed. “Noted. Alright team, to you Lions—Not you.”

Shiro grabbed Keith’s collar and pulled him back.

“Wha—” Keith turned back as the others disappeared down their elevators. “Shiro?”

“No,” Shiro said sternly. “You were too reckless last time.”

“But—”

“Keith,” Shiro pushed back. “You’re clearly not in the right mindset to go into battle right now. It was wrong of us to push you into it last time.”

“Shiro, please,” Keith begged, that hollow feeling of uselessness clawing at his lungs again. “Please, I know I screwed up last time, but—”

“I’m sorry, Keith,” Shiro backed up to his station. “Once you’re in a better mind set, we’ll talk.”

Keith let his helmet fall to the floor as Shiro disappeared into the Black Lion’s hanger.

_Who’s useless now?_

The voice echoed through his head as he watched his Pack-mates fly from the castle and engage with the enemy. After only a few minutes, it was apparent that they could handle it themselves. He wasn’t needed.

That hollow feeling gripped his heart again.

_Useless._

Coran called out to him as he left the bridge. 

He wasn’t needed by his team. Was he really needed by his mate? Was he really the only one who could wake him up? Now that he thought about it, it sounded fake. What kind of fairy tale happy ending was that? Why hadn’t he learned already? Keith didn’t get happy endings.

Even so, he was drawn back to the infirmary. He belonged by his mate’s side, even if he never woke up, he would stay there. It was the only place he deserved to be, constantly reminded by how much of a failure he was.

Couldn’t fight. 

Couldn’t protect.

Couldn’t love.

What was the point of trying anymore?

_Intruder!_

He froze outside the door. Something unfamiliar lingered in the air. Something . . . _Galra._

Depression forgotten; the door flew open. His Omega was in there, vulnerable and defenceless. Hyperaware senses locked onto the intruders. Three of them. One of them stood out from the others, the main threat to his mate, the one who almost crushed them both, the one he’d been _hunting_.

Keith’s eyes locked onto the Galran Prince, his _enemy_ who was hovering right beside his mate! The Prince’s cursed before Keith’s shock melted into rage. The Alpha reared its head.

_Intruders!_

Claws and fangs sprout, and Keith lunges with a feral snarl. He closes the distance between them within the blink of an eye, and they crash together in a flurry of limbs. They roll across the floor, fighting for dominance. Lotor manages to throw Keith off and they both roll to their feet and square off.

Lotor’s dark sword flashes dangerously as he draws it. In turn, Keith’s bayard materialized in his hand. They stood unmoving and tense.

The only sound between them was the beeping of Lance’s heart monitor. Still alive.

The moment broke.

Keith surged forward. A single thought rises to the forefront of his mind, a goal he didn’t even realize he was still trying to achieve.

_Destroy Prince Lotor._

They danced to the tune of death, precision strikes and expert parries. One mistake could spell the end. But even if he were to be struck down, Keith would not fall.

Keith knocked Lotor off balance and went in for a follow-up strike, leaving his side wide open. A foot spun and connected with his gut. He fell to the floor and came up on all fours, hackles raised, and teeth bared. One of the Generals joined the fight.

“He’s like a wild animal,” Ezor whistled as she hoped over to the Prince’s side.

“I believe the term is ‘going feral’,” Lotor watched as the Paladin regained his feet and swayed. “He’s relying on instinct alone. I doubt there’s any real train of thought going through his head right now.”

Too much talking. Keith drew his luxite blade and it extended at his touch. He spun his twin blades and crossed them in front of him.

The two enemies lowered themselves to receive the next blow. Keith tensed his muscles and—

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE—

Keith’s heart stopped with the scream of the heart monitor. Enemies forgotten, he spun to where his Omega lay. The last intruder was man-handling his mate over her shoulder. 

The enemy was _touching_ his Omega! Enemy was _taking his Omega!_

The noise that erupted from his was animalistic. Instincts screaming _DANGER! PROTECT!_

Axca cursed as she hauled the Blue Paladin over her shoulder. Lotor stepped between them but Keith ignored the Prince’s blade that ripped through his flesh as he ran to his Omega’s side. He ripped at Ezor’s arm as she tried to wrap around his waist. He threw her at the Prince and didn’t watch them crash into medical equipment before he was tearing the last one away from his mate.

Axca rolled and came up on her knees with pistol drawn and aimed at him and his Omega. Keith crowded over his mate on the floor, protecting him with his body and snarled. Hackles raised. Eyes no more than slits. Muscles tensed up like a coil. Blood dripping down his side where Lotor’s blade had pierced. Injuries ignored. The only thing that mattered was protecting his Omega.

_My Omega!_

“Well this wasn’t part of the plan,” Ezor grimaced. She clutched her bleeding arm and whined against likely broken ribs.

“We can’t take him out like this,” Lotor scoffed and swung the blood from his sword. “We still need five Paladins and as it seems that the Red Paladin isn’t in a state to listen to reason, I think it best we retreat for now.”

“They’ll know what we tried to so,” Axca pointed out, her gun still trained on the growling Paladin. “They’ll expect us to try again.”

“We’ll have to rethink out position,” Lotor frowned. “For now we . . .”

_. . ._

Blood.

The scent wafts around him like a haze. His thoughts are thick. It’s like waking from a long dream without that feeling of rightness. His nose twitched as he unconsciously sought out familiar scents.

First and foremost, he smelt his mate’s pain.

Anger. Protectiveness. _Danger_.

The Omega stirs. After the breathing mask had been removed, all the scents surrounding him assaulted his instincts all at once. It panics.

_Danger! Alpha! Pain. Help._

The hollow creeps in as it tries to push him back down into the darkness. . . but there’s something else. He smells himself. To be exact, he smells his mate’s scent on himself, something he hasn’t experienced in a long, _long_ time. How he’d yearned to be covered in his Alpha’s scent. It chases the hollow away. It wraps him up with a warm blanket that he wants to hide in and cuddle up to the one he loves. It was as if his Alpha hadn’t left his side in—

The Alpha growled.

The Omega registers his Alpha is very close. He wants to reach out and grab on, but the Alpha is warning something away. Alpha is trying to protect.

And Alpha won’t let the enemy _near_ his Omega again.

The Prince shuffles. The Alpha lunges at the movement, and he went for the kill. Blades discarded, his claws reach to pierce through thick leather and sharpened fangs seek out soft flesh. The Galra’s blade rises in defence. The Alpha is run through. His scream of agony ripped through the Omega’s soul.

With a gasp, ocean blue eyes fly open.

_Alpha . . ._

Voice refuses to work.

Arms hurt to move.

Body heavy.

_Thud_.

Alpha falls to the floor and goes quiet.

Omega manages to roll his head to the side.

Alpha wasn’t moving.

Enemies stand over him.

The scent of blood surrounds him.

Omega whines. Omega needs Alpha. Alpha in danger. Enemies _hurt ALPHA!_

Instincts mixed with quintessence and _life_ rushed through the Omega. The Omega pushes himself up with renewed energy and with an ear piercing shrill, a bayard materialized in his hand. The enemies were caught off guard and stumbled as their ears were assaulted by the super sonic decibels that fell from the Omega’s throat. Then the bayard transformed.

“Take cover!”

Plasma bullets filled the air. The Omega’s shrill continued until the rush of quintessence faltered. The energy left as quickly as it came and the bayard slipped from his grip. With nothing else, he collapsed to the ground.

He didn’t know what happened to the enemies, only that they were gone. He caught the scent of their blood and he rumbled, content to have run them out.

_Alpha. . ._

Alpha hadn’t moved.

He whined, prodding for a reaction. Nothing.

He chirped and struggled to pull his unresponsive body closer.

Still no reaction.

It hurt. He reached aching limbs toward his mate, pulling his useless body closer.

“A—al—pha . . .” He pulled himself close enough to grab his Alpha’s shirt and drag himself in close. “Alpha,” he prodded. His body shook with exertion, using energy he no longer had. He tried whining and chirping . . . but Alpha didn’t. . .

. . . _hurt . . ._

Alpha wake up . . .

Omega was alone.

The hollow spilled like the scent of blood. The Omega, once again, dropped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Hate me yet? Good. Extra long chapter of ouchies. Total of 6 chapters, so two more to go! Next: panic and healing**


	5. Chapter 5

“Xanthium Crystals are secured.”

“No life signs on board.”

“Not to like, jinx us or anything, but doesn’t this seem too easy to you guys?”

“I mean, yeah, but . . .”

“Almost as if—”

“—It was a diversion!”

“ _Paladins! I need you back at the Castle!”_

**Oo-oO**

The Paladins once again gathered in the med bay. It was frighteningly familiar by now. Keith stood suspended in a healing pod. Lance, again, laid on his cot. Neither conscious or answering any questions.

“How did they even get on board?”

“I’m running a diagnostic as we speak, but until than we must remain vigilant in case they return.”

“What do you think they were after?”

“Could be anything. They scrambled all the security feeds, so we’ll have to wait until Keith gets out of the pod. But he’ll be in there for quintants . . .”

“He’s lucky to be alive. He was run straight through. Punctured a lung, severely damaged the stomach and liver . . . just barely missed his heart. It’s only be some miracle he didn’t bleed out.”

“He’s always been stubborn, but this is taking it to a new level.”

“He was protecting his mate. Is it really so surprising?”

They all turned their attention to the Omega who was once again laid out on the medical cot.

“Do you think they were after Lance?”

“Why would they go after Lance?”

“Why else would they be in here?!”

“Arguing about it won’t change anything. Coran’s right, we need to stay vigilant until we figure out how they got on board.”

“. . . But Lance woke up, right? Those laser blasts . . . that was him, right?”

“Is he . . .is he waking up?”

“Yes, it seems so. His brain activity has spiked since the incident and I believe he did indeed regain consciousness for at least a short time before passing out again.”

“How long until he wakes again?”

“I can’t imagine too long. Waking from a long sleep occurs in stages. Even if he does wake again, he may not be very coherent of his surroundings.”

“It would be best that he doesn’t wake up alone.”

“It would be best if he woke up to Keith.”

“Guess it’s like a race. They’re always like that, trying to out-do each other.”

“Seems like forever ago.” A moment of silence passed over the group as they reflected upon better times.

Finally, Allura broke it. “I think it would be best if we take a step back from the front lines for the time being.” Everyone turned to her in surprise and she continued. “It’s become clear that we are not at our best and we haven’t been for some time. I believe it wise to take a step back and let Keith and Lance heal.”

“The planet X3 is not so far from out current position,” Coran offered. “It’s a beautiful place, rich in nature and culture. They have recently joined the Coalition. I’m sure they would agree to house us for a while.”

Allura nodded her consent.

Together, they all watched over the broken pair.

**Oo-oO**

_Alpha. . . where are you?_

_I need you._

_Do you still need me?_

_When you were sad, did I help you smile?_

_When you were angry, did I calm you down?_

_When you were scared, did I make you feel safe?_

_When you were lonely, did I love you right?_

_I love you._

_Do you still love me?_

_Useless Omega._

_I still love you, even if you don’t smile anymore._

_I still love you, even when you push me away._

_I still love you, even if you never sleep by my side anymore._

_I will always love you._

_And when you finally need me, I’ll be right here._

_Always._

_But . . ._

_Alpha had been hurt. Omega had protected Alpha._

_Alpha was scared. Omega needs to make sure Alpha is safe._

_Alpha . . . Alpha where are you?_

_Why aren’t you here?_

_Alpha! Omega needs Alpha!_

_. . ._

One movement after Lotor’s attack, the Omega’s eyes fluttered open. The after-Drop effects were all too familiar, the aching chest, the shaking limbs, the _wrongness_ of it all. But this time it was easy to ignore. The only thoughts racing through his mind were the memories of what had happened right before he Dropped

_Alpha’s in danger!_

The Omega sucks a breath in through his nose, searching for his scent. There was nothing.

_Alpha not here!_

He pushed himself over.

_Danger—Find Alpha!~_

Then the Omega was on the floor. He couldn’t move properly. His arms hurt from the effort it took to try and push himself up off the floor. His legs kicked uselessly behind him. It was like he was a newborn pup who was learning to walk all over again.

He didn’t have time for this! He—he needed his Alpha.

The whine slipped from his lips, calling for his mate. The scent of pain and blood were still fresh in his mind and his instincts flared. He pushed away weaknesses, pushed back the pain in his body from lying still for so long, he pushed away his own instability and clung to the thought of his mate, his Alpha. His own pain no longer existed.

He _made_ his legs push his body off the floor. Wires ripped from his skin and an annoying beeping filled the air. The Omega ignored it like everything else and stumbles out of the infirmary, blind to the person who floated in the cryo-pod just across the room.

**Oo-oO**

“What do you mean he’s gone!”  
“I left for like a second to go to the bathroom and I come back and everything’s going crazy because he ripped it all off and now he’s gone and I don’t know where he could have gone and—”

“And we opened the Castle for the celebration that the X3ans are throwing for us so—”

“He could be anywhere!”

“He’s in no shape to be wandering around!”

“I KNOW THAT!”

“WE HAVE TO FIND HIM!”

**Oo-oO**

Hiss.

Falling.

No one’s there to catch him this time.

Keith stumbles and falls to his knees. The room spins. Breath catches. Healing Pods.

He breathes in.

Eyes snap open.

 _Omega_.

His mate’s distress fills the room, heavy and potent Instantly he’s on his feet and is at his bedside by nothing more than muscle memory. But—

_Gone._

He grips the bed rail. His heart pounds. His breath rasps. Instincts crazy. The last thing he remembers is the Enemy trying to take his mate away. And now his mate is gone.

The Alpha wails. The sound fills the Castle, but no one is around to hear them.

_Omega! Find Omega! Protect!_

He uses his nose. Follows the scent. The Castle’s ramp is extended to an unfamiliar landscape. He’s outside. Lush greenery surrounds him. He follows the distress in the opposite direction of the distant city and enters the dense, dark forest.

He’s running. Lungs burn. Legs pump. Chest buzzing. Instincts running wild.

_Omega!_

The scents start to mix with the forest. He smells the trees, the overpowering flowers, the musky fungi . . . and the predators. He doesn’t see them, but he knows they’re there.

The warning growl bubbles from his throat. He stands taller, makes himself bigger. His scent riddled with heat and threatens pain to anything that approaches. He senses the predators slink away. Gone for now, but the Alpha stays on guard.

He smells the air again . . .

_There_. The Omega’s distress. He darts after it. He bolts through the trees, leaping over branches, stumbling over exposed roots, startling small creatures that scurry up to high branches.

He doesn’t notice them.

Mushrooms are littered everywhere. More specifically, they’re lining the exact path that his mate’s scent is taking him. He slows and draws in another breath. It’s almost as if, his mate’s scent is _coming_ from the mushrooms. But his mind isn’t in a state to recognize it. He continues his mad search through the forest until he’s sprinting along the side of a cliff face. The mushrooms are denser here, more clearly patterned in a line that led directly to an opening in the rock wall. He slid to a stop in front the cave.

_Omega!_

His mate was close, and his scent had started to calm. The immense distress was dissipating into something more content. It wasn’t happy, but it wasn’t panicked anymore. It gave Keith the chance to snap out of the haze of instincts and actually start thinking clearly. The Alpha retreated in Keith’s mind, but paced relentlessly in his mind, never forgotten.

But Alpha or not, Keith needed his mate and he needed him _now._

With no regard for himself, he entered the cave. The diming light quickly faded behind a curtain of greenery that he pushed through. Quick steps echoed off the stone. Loose rocks scattered around his feet. White tendrils of something odd crept up the walls. Something rustles farther in.

He sees him.

Omega.

_Lance!_

Keith freezes. He’s right there.

The Omega doesn’t move. He’s wrapped up in the thin white threads that were lining the walls. He was encased in a cocoon and propped up against the wall. His eyes were closed.

Keith’s instincts flared again. Something had lured his mate here and wrapped him up like a fly about to be devoured by a spider. Lured Lance like it had lured Keith.

He scented the air and noticed that he smelt himself even though he’s never been here before. The memory of a line of mushrooms too patterned to be natural flits in his brain. The fungus had lured them both here.

The Alpha’s hackles rose, and the anger coursed at the thought of _anything_ touching his mate. He couldn’t see anything in the dim glow, but he couldn’t smell anything over the scent of his own artificial scent and his content Omega.

Satisfied that there was no immediate enemy, he raced over to where the Omega was slumped over and slashed through the webbing like they were nothing. He faltered because they _had_ been like nothing. He reached out a tentative hand toward the webbing and the fibers fell away with the slightest of touches. He was expecting strong, sticky ropes that could hold even the strongest of Alphas, something that would restrain prey no matter how hard they struggled. This was different. It was light, delicate and in no way restricting.

Lance stirred. Keith’s eyes snapped to him. The Omega had actually _moved_. After days and days to staring blankly at his motionless face, days and days of regretting everything that led up to it, weeks of self-hate and thinking he was a bad mate . . . Lance _whined_ for his Alpha.

And Keith answered.

The Omega was suddenly wrapped in the Alpha’s arms. For the first time in months, he answered his mate’s call with a rumble. The sound reverberated deep within his chest and Lance melted into the vibrations, letting his cheek rest on his chest and snuggle closer.

Finally, all felt right again.

The white fibers, sweet and delicate, started creeping up around them. Keith growled at the movement and went to cut them back—but Lance stopped him with a soft trill.

Keith’s attention grabbed his full attention as he spoke with a hoarse voice, “Look.”

Keith followed his mate’s line of sight was watched as the small fibers, mycelium, the roots of mushrooms, wrapped them in a cocoon. It was gentle, soft, comfortable. It blocked out the world, isolating them in a space only for _them_. The mycelium then started to warm, chasing away the chill and lit his mate’s face with the most beautiful bioluminescent glow. They looked into each other’s eyes, seeing one another for the first time in forever.

A few feet away, something shuffled in the shadows and Keith’s mind snapped to the threat of a spider wrapping his mate up in its web before devouring them both. The growl burst from his throat. He had just reunited with his mate and he would fight everything that tried to come between them.

But what he saw through the light fungal fibers was no creature of nightmares. There was no surplus of limbs, no hissing fangs, no web spinners. The creature that peeked out from behind the rocks was humanoid in shape, no larger than a child and had a large mushroom cap covering its head and any face it would have had. It glowed with the same bioluminescence as the fibers that cushioned them now.

“He helped me,” Lance pawed at Keith’s chest to sooth his rapid heartbeat. “He brought me here . . . brough _you_ here. _Safe. . ._ Alpha.”

Lance’s eyes slipped shut and Keith felt a breath seep out. This wasn’t like before. Lance wasn’t Dropping again. His breathing was deep and steady. His eyes flicked beneath his eyelids and he shifted to find a more comfortable position against his mate, against the one he loved.

They curled up impossible closer to each other and finally Lance’s scent gland started producing a light, happy scent. And then, against all odds, a light, barely there purr vibrated through the Omega.

Keith couldn’t help but tear up. He was finally breathing in his mate. He buried his face into Lance’s hair, greasier than normal, but euphoric all the same. They were surrounded by warmth in a soft, protective light and there wasn’t anyone around to bother them.

Well . . .

Keith eyed the mushroom child who was still peeking at them from a few feet away. It observed them for another moment before nodding to Keith, as if telling him that he could rest. It will keep watch. It won’t let anyone come between them. Here, in this glowing, wondrous cave, they were safe.

He wasn’t sure why, perhaps it was the atmosphere it had created, or some inane sense that the creature held no aggression, but as the child melted back into the earth, Keith let all the stress, the guilt, the longing . . . everything that had been tormenting him slowly seep out of his body.

With increasingly drowsy eyes, Keith gazed down at his mate in his arms, finally right, and together, they shared a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

**Oo-oO**

It was an indeterminate amount of time later that Lance awoke. His eyes peeled back stiffly, and he couldn’t help the heavy purr that continued to cascad from his chest. The place that once ached with the hollow loneliness now reverberated with his Alpha who was holding him tightly. Even in his sleep the Alpha tightened his hold on his Omega, curling his arms around his back and pulling him in close. Lance leaned into his chest, letting his scent fill his every Omega need.

He dozed, letting the Alpha sleep. Between long blinks, he would gaze up at the Alpha and trace the features of his face that he once thought had been permanently etched into expressions of anger and stress.

The little wrinkle between his eyebrows had evened out and he traced the furry little caterpillars with a finger. He smiled fondly as Keith’s face twitched at the touch. His lips were no longer pulled tight into a scowl and were now drawn out and relaxed. Lance longed to brush his own lips against them, to taste his Alpha again. His neck was no longer tensed with stress, but relaxed and vibrated with loving rumbles.

Lance let his fingers brush along the column of his throat and smiled as the rumbles tickled. Keith stirs and grumbles at the bugging. He swatted the hand away and cuddles it under his chin.

“Silly,” Lance mutters fondly as he takes his hand back.

He pulls at their little cocoon. The fibers fall at his touch, never restricting and always warm. The enchanting glow from last night had faded as the morning sunlight poured in and Lance breathed in the fresh woodsy air that signaled a new beginning.

Keith grabs at him when Lance pulls too far away and the Alpha’s groggy eyes finally shoot open when realized that this isn’t a dream and that Lance is actually awake and smiling down at him with all the love he’s always had.

With a trembling hand, he reaches out to cradle his cheek. Lance closes his eyes and leans into the touch, the soft purr ever present.

“Is this real?” Keith’s voice shook.

“God, I hope so,” Lance’s laugh is wet and short, but his smile never falls.

They stay there, staring at each other. Bird song plays in the background and the wind rustles the curtain of vines at the head of the cave, but they only have eyes for each other.

Keith’s other hand joins the first and he brings their foreheads together. Tears gather in his eyes and his voice wobbles. “Quiznak. Lance, I—”

“Shh,” Lance sooths and strokes at the fingers on his cheeks. His own eyes mirror Keith’s but he’s less successful at reigning in the tears. “I’m here, Keith. I’m here.”

Keith lost the battle with his emotions and yanked Lance in close. “I’m sorry,” he cried between sobs. “God, I’m sorry! I’m sorry I let this happen! I’m sorry I ignored you! I’m sorry I didn’t notice you were hurting! I—I—”

“Keith,” Lance’s voice cracks and he clung to him just as hard. “Keith it’s okay. I’m okay, now, see?” He pulled back and forced a watery smile for his mate.

“Well I’m not!” Keith snapped and he squeezed Lance’s hands, holding them to his chest. “I’m not okay! And I haven’t been for a—a long time. And it’s because you weren’t there!”

Lance froze and the air lulled as Keith’s words rang between them. Keith tried to regain his breath because he wasn’t done. Not by a long shot.

“I pushed you away when I should have been holding you close,” Keith’s hands were shaking on either side of Lance’s. “I focused on all the wrong things. I—I can’t keep going if I know that you—you’re getting hurt because of me.”

“Keith—”

“No. Just . . . I need to say this,” Keith takes a deep breath, centering himself. He knows what he has to say and there’s no sugar coating it. “I was a bad mate—no! I was. And for a while I thought that you deserved better than some asshole who didn’t even realize that you missed your heat because you had restarted your suppressants. I thought you’d be better off with someone who would treat you right. Someone who would love you the way you deserve! Hah. Shiro knocked me back down pretty fast for that one . . .” 

Keith looked up and met Lance’s eyes. Lance could tell he was scared, but the Alpha didn’t stop. “I realized something, when everyone was out there fighting, and I was sitting in the Castle because I thought everyone would be better off—that I would fail them like I failed you. . . I thought—” Keith’s voice hitched. “—I thought of how _disappointed_ you would have been. If you saw me, you would have kicked my butt so hard,” he chuckled, and Lance laughed with him.

“Oh yeah?” He wiped away some of the tears on Keith’s face and held him gently.

Keith nodded. “I don’t want to let you down anymore than I already have. So, I’m not gonna leave. I’m gonna be better. I’m gonna hold you closer than I ever have before. I’m gonna stay by your side, forever. I’m gonna love you so much, even if you deserve so much more than I can give . . .”

“I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

“But you _deserve_ more. You deserve everything this universe has to give . . . _I’m_ the one who doesn’t deserve you.

“False,” Lance tutted met Keith’s eyes, locking them together. “We deserve each other. Just two idiots who can’t seem to figure out the secret to love.”

“Don’t need to,” Keith nuzzled into him. “As long as you’re with me.”

“Always.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, look at that. They finally get back together <3 Had you going there for a second, didn't I? One more to go. Can't have too much of a happy ending . . . right?


	6. Chapter 6

Lance’s breaths ripped through his throat. He pushed his shaky legs to keep running. Just a little farther. Just a little more. Just a little stronger. Keith easily kept pace with him with steady hands to catch him when he stumbled and a gentle voice calling out how much more he had to go, that he was doing great.

It should have been comforting.

He only felt weaker for it.

Needless to say, after spending so much time in a coma, Lance’s body had started to atrophy. Translation: his body had deteriorated to the point where even walking to the kitchen tired him out.

No one quite knew how he managed to make it so far into the forest on X3 in such a state, but he had been incredibly sore the next few days. He spent those days snuggled up in bed with his mate with no worries. Lance was happier than he had been in a long time. But now, he had to recover. He had to build his body up again. He had to be stronger than he was before. He could do this . . .

“That’s enough for today,” Keith said and started to lead him towards where their water pouches sat.

“No,” Lance gasped, bent over and heaving breaths. He veered back towards the track. “I can do another lap.”

“Lance,” Keith caught his hand. “You’ve pushed yourself hard enough for today. You don’t want to over do it.”

“Look who’s talking,” Lance took his hand back and started on another lap. His breath came harder and his legs shook uncontrollably. He tried to clear his vision, and suddenly he was on the ground.

“Lance!”

Keith was there, gathering the Omega into his arms and swiping back sweaty bangs from his forehead. Lance blinked a couple times to focus on his face. All he saw there was worry. Lance couldn’t help the pang of guilt that flooded at the sight of his Alpha in distress.

The sad trill slipped out.

Keith sighed in relief and brushed through his hair again. “You’re still recovering,” he said softly. “It’s okay to take it slow.”

Lance curled in on himself and his Omega whined for comfort. Keith rumbled in response and carried the Omega away from the training deck. Lance buried his face into his Alpha’s neck, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was an even greater burden now than ever.

 _Weak_.

**Oo-oO**

“Lance, you didn’t finish your food,” Keith prodded his mate. He had scooted their chairs together until they were pressed up against one another.

“Really?” Lance quirked an eyebrow at him. His bowl of goo was half empty.

“You need to eat.”

“What do you think I’ve been doing?”

“Come on, Lance,” Keith looked at him with those big, caring eyes. “You need to keep your strength up.”

Lance sighed and went about scraping up another spoonful. He eyed it with distain and his lip curled as his stomach protested at the thought of anymore food, but Keith was looking at him with that worried look on his face, as if he expected Lance to Drop again at any moment.

_Weak_.

Lance shoveled the goo into his mouth. Keith relaxed and smiled at him. Lance pulled a smile on, too.

**Oo-oO**

“Lance?!” Keith burst into the room.

Lance flinched out of his lazy train of thought. “Geez, Keith, scared me half to death,” he gripped the front of his shirt in exaggeration.

Keith relaxed at the sight of him then hunched in on himself. “Sorry. I saw you were gone, and I panicked.”

“Just wanted some time to think on my own,” Lance answered softly and turned back to the window showcasing the beauty of the infinite universe.

Keith scurried over and snuggled in beside him. “What were you thinking about?” He wrapped an arm around his Omega and breathed in his scent. Lance let himself be held.

“Nothing important, just letting my mind wander.”

“Oh,” Keith let his gaze drift out the window. His scent was tinged with distress, worried over his mate. He’d been way too worried lately. Lance couldn’t help but feel responsible. He had to help his Alpha relax.

Lance smiled up at his mate. “Like, you know how sometimes the mice like to steal food?” 

Keith perked back up and eyed him suspiciously. “Yeah?”

“Well, turns out they had a stash on the holodeck and Kaltenecker found it! You should have heard their little angry squeaks. It was so cute, but at the same time you gotta feel sad.”

“You snuck them more food, didn’t you,” Keith shook his head fondly.

“I mean . . .”

They laughed together and settle into a comfortable silence. Lance lets it sit and basks in his mate’s warmth. But after a few moments, Keith starts shifting.

Lance hums, asking the silent question.

Keith settles and holds him tighter. “Sorry I panicked earlier. I just . . . I’ve just been on edge and I don’t want to leave you alone.”

“I’m okay now, Keith.”

“Are you really?” Keith pulls away and turns so they’re both facing each other. “You’re still recovering and . . .” He trails off and his gaze falls with his expression. 

“And what?” Lance asks softly even though he’s pretty sure he knows where this is going. He doesn’t want him to say it. He doesn’t want to be weak.

“I don’t want you to be alone . . .” Keith mumbles but raises his eyes to meet Lance’s. “Because if an Omega Drops once, it’s easier for them to Drop again.”

Lance felt his hands clutch into fists, but quickly unfurled them to place on Keith’s cheeks. “That’s not going to happen again.”

“How do you know that?!”

“Because I know you,” Lance leaned in an gave him a peck on the lips. “And with the way you’ve been mother-hening me, I doubt even the most prone Omega would ever Drop.”

“I just want you to be safe.”

“Kind of hard when we’re in the middle of a war,” Lance chuckles and bumps him.

“I hate it,” Keith grabs onto his sleeve and leans his forehead onto his shoulder. “I hate knowing I can’t always protect you. I hate smothering you. You’re so strong, and sometimes it feels like you don’t need me anymore.”

“Keith . . .”

Keith wrapped his arms around Lance and Lance felt him trembling. “Don’t leave me again. Please, just, let me protect you.”

“. . . I’ll always be here.”

**Oo-oO**

It was everything Lance _didn’t_ want to happen. He wanted to be strong for everyone, instead Keith won’t let him out of his sight for more than a minute without his Alpha instincts going haywire.

_Weak._

Keith had said that Lance was strong, but that wasn’t true. Lance was weak and always had been. He was just been better at hiding it before. Now everyone knew. Now Keith was constantly worried about him. Now he was always a burden.

“ _Paladins! To your stations!_ ”  
Allura’s voice rang over the intercom and Keith grabbed Lance’s hand and together, they rushed to the bridge. The Princess started talking.

Lance started counting.

One, two, three, four, five . . . six Paladins.

Five Lions.

“Everyone to your Lions!” Shiro said and they split up.

There was an awkward moment where Allura started toward the Blue Lion, then faltered and looked to Lance.

Too many Paladins.

Keith gripped his hand. But Lance had figured out the solution a long time ago.

“Go ahead Princess,” he forced a smile and took a step back. “I’m still not at a hundred percent.”

She still hesitated for a moment then nodded. “Right. We’ll talk about this later.”

Lance waved as they descended into their elevators. Keith gave him a kiss, then he was gone too. Lance watched out of the big windows beside Coran as Voltron continued to function without him.

He always knew they’d be fine without them. He wasn’t fit to be a Paladin. He was weak. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t needed. Keith still needed him. It was obvious that the Alpha would self-destruct without his mate. He was loved, so he would stay.

**Oo-oO**

“Geez, even when you guys are kicking butt, you still manage to somehow get hurt,” Lance tutted as he dabbed at a scrape along Keith’s hair line.

Keith flinched back as the antiseptic stung. “I swear, it came out of nowhere!”

“Sure it did,” Lance slid the band-aid into place and place a smooch on it. “There, all better.”

“Thanks love,” Keith grabbed his hips and brought his in close. “Now kiss me properly.”

“So demanding,” Lance obliged. “That’s my big strong Alpha.”

They shared a close moment as they just looked at each other. Then Keith’s face became a little more serious.

“I missed you out there,” he said quietly. “It hasn’t been the same without you.”

“Oh?” Lance’s heart stuttered.

“Yeah,” Keith brushed his cheeks with his thumbs. “Forming Voltron . . . it just feels like something’s missing. It’s not right anymore.”

Lance hummed and turned his gaze to study his feet.

Keith tapped his cheek to get his attention again. “So, make sure you don’t overwork yourself so you can come back as soon as you can,” he smiled brightly. His smile fell when Lance didn’t reciprocate. “What’s wrong?”

Lance’s eyes snapped back to his. “I, uh. . . I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you guys are doing great. And you guys have been doing great ever since . . .” Lance pulled himself back. “Isn’t it best not to mess with something that isn’t broken?”

“You don’t mean that,” Keith’s grip on his tightened.

“We have one Paladin too many, Keith,” Lance shrugged. “And let’s admit it, I’m not exactly in the best shape to be a Paladin right now.”

“You’ve been working hard to regain your strength. You can’t tell me that was for nothing. You can’t tell me you don’t want to fight.”

“Of course, I still want to fight, but—”

“Then take Blue back. I’m sure Allura will give her up.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“Allura and Blue have come so far. Their bond is stronger than mine ever was and it’s still growing. I can’t take that from her.”

“Then—then take Red.”

“Keith—”

“No. Take Red, I’ll provide back up from the Castle. It’ll work out.”

“You think you can keep your cool for long when _I’m_ the one in danger?”

“. . . We can _share_ Red?”

“I don’t think it works like that.”

“We can make it work.”

“Keith. . .”

“Lance. Please. I know . . . I know that you’ve been feeling like you can’t do anything lately.”

“Wha—”

“ _I know_ , okay? I know that you’ve been beating yourself up. Don’t try to deny it, I can smell it on you. I don’t know why you think you need to be perfect. I don’t know why you won’t ask for help. . . I want you to ask me for help. You don’t need to do this alone!”

Lance was shocked into silence. Then Keith saw it. Lance was shaking. He reached out but Lance caught his hand.

“I—I hate it.”

“What do you hate?”

“I hate that I’m so weak.”

“You’re not—”

“I am! I can’t fight like you or lead the team or pilot the Castle or invent stuff. . . I’m not much good at anything. I try. God, I try so hard to be strong, but my Omega keeps getting in the way! I can’t even stand being alone for a few hours anymore without it crying for attention. I hate it. . . I hate—”

“Shh,” Keith gathered him against his chest and stroked his hair as his mate cried. “You don’t have to be alone. It’s okay to ask for help. We’ll get through this together. Okay? You’ll never be alone ever again.”

They ended up huddled together, emotionally exhausted, but together. 

“So what happens now?” Lance finally asks. “Who gets to be Paladins and who has to step down?”

“That’s a discussion we need to have as a team. We can’t decide that for ourselves. _You_ can’t decide by yourself.”

“And in the meantime?”

“We take it one day at a time.”

**Oo-oO**

In Lotor’s personal cruiser, the Galran Prince and his Generals listen to the Blue and Red Paladins sort through their problems and come to terms with each other. 

“Ugh, make it stop,” Zethrid whined.

“I think it’s cute,” Ezor cooed.

“So how do we proceed forward?” Axca asked. “Do you still intend on going after him?”

“He’s no longer a weakness,” Lotor smiled. “In fact, I believe that Voltron as a whole will come out of this ordeal stronger than ever before. All they needed was a little push.”

“Pleas be more mindful of the consequences of your ‘little pushes’ next time,” Axca prodded at his still healing wounds. “Next time you may not be so lucky.”

Lotor grimaced and swatted her hand away, “Noted.”

Back in the Castle of Lions, the bug that they had planted self destructed.

**Oo-oO**

**OO**

**O**

The castle was quiet. It was late, but Keith made his way to the observatory all the same, sure that’s where he would find his Omega.

“Lance?”

“What is it, Keith?”

“It’s getting late.”

“ . . . “

“Come to bed?”

“Okay,” Lance smiled and took his mate’s hand. Together, they made their way through the Castle to their room. The door slid open and their combined scent wafted out to greet them. Lance took a deep breath in, finally feeling at home.

Keith wrapped his arms around him and nuzzled into his neck. “I love you.”

Lance nuzzled right back, “I love you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so it ends. Who cares about Lions and Paladins, our boys are happy for now.
> 
> Thanks for sticking around this long!


End file.
